A Scots local newspaper editor is facing charges of incitement to racial hatred after he published an editorial opposing a proposed refugee centre in the north-east of Scotland. Index on Censorship reports. (22-AUG-05).
Former fishing boat captain turned editor Alan Buchan, owner and editor of North East Weekly, a free paper distributed along the Scots east coast was charged after a two-hour interview by police on 14 August. In an editorial published on 16 June about proposals to turn a former military base into an immigrant centre, Buchan suggested that the camp would turn his neighbourhood into “ghettos where murder, rape, robbery, assault, break-ins and numerous other crimes became prevalent.” Section 19 of Britain´s Public Order Act gives the police powers to arrest any person they suspect of publishing or distributing written material that is “threatening, abusive, or insulting” and which stirs racial hatred. In an interview with the UK Press Gazette, Buchan denied he was racist and said he intended to fight the charges.
