Lennon verdict will ‘seriously damage’ fight against bigots

FORMER home secretary John Reid has warned the failure to secure a conviction of a football fan for an incident involving Celtic manager Neil Lennon had dealt a hammer blow to the Scottish Government’s hopes of stamping out sectarianism.

In a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond, the Celtic chairman said the club found a jury’s not proven verdict in the case of John Wilson, in Edinburgh, “incomprehensible” and he called for existing laws to be applied more robustly before new ones are instituted.

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said the First Minister would respond to the letter, while community safety minister Roseanna Cunningham promised legislation that will bring “real and lasting change”.

It came as a survey revealed 89 per cent of Scots found sectarianism offensive and unacceptable at football grounds, while 85 per cent believe it should be a criminal offence.

John Wilson, 26, was convicted of breach of the peace, but the jury deleted the religious aggravation element of the charge. A steward said he heard Wilson call Lennon “a Fenian b******” as he approached him at a game between Hearts and Celtic on 11 May. But Wilson denied saying anything sectarian, and no-one else was able to corroborate..

In his letter to Mr Salmond, Mr Reid wrote: “I am sure that you are well aware of the public consternation that the verdict has aroused. I am equally aware, as you may be, of the wider implications of such a verdict, especially in the context of the present discussions regarding further legislation on sectarianism and offensive behaviour. In this light, these wider implications of this verdict cannot be other than seriously damaging.

“There is a widely held view that present laws should be robustly applied before new legislation is introduced”

John Lamont, Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, also expressed concerns. “We need to be clear about what this bill is going to achieve,” he said. “If it’s achieving nothing then it’s a matter of officers enforcing current laws more effectively.”

However, Johann Lamont, Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman, said: “Scottish Labour deplores any form of sectarianism and supports efforts to root it out in all of its odious forms.”

Ms Cunningham said: “Behaviour which is threatening, offensive and which incites hatred and public disorder simply cannot be allowed to happen. That is why this government is taking action to clarify the law and ensure law enforcement agencies have additional tools in their armoury to crack down upon these individuals with full force.”