A number of politicians within the progressive Scottish National Party have come under fire after reportedly being pictured by a sign calling for trans-critical “terfs” to be beheaded.
A number of MPs and one MSP within the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) have been roundly criticised after images emerged of them at a protest standing beside a sign calling for individuals critical of transgenderism — sometimes known by the neologism “terf” — to be beheaded.
The pictures were reportedly taken at a demonstration protesting the UK government’s decision to block a law that would allow children aged sixteen years and over to legally declare their own gender without medical supervision which was recently passed by the Scottish parliament.
According to a report by The Telegraph, MPs for the SNP Alison Thewliss, Kirsten Oswald and Stewart McDonald were all pictured standing near the handmade sign, which read “decapitate terfs” alongside images of heats and a guillotine.
The representatives have reportedly claimed that, despite the allegedly accurate images, they were unaware of the sign at the demonstration.
Also snapped beside the sign was SNP member of the devolved Scottish parliament in Holyrood Kaukab Stewart, who is also reported as denying being aware of the sign while present at the demonstration.
Such a claim has been mocked by some online, with famous author and women’s rights campaigner J.K. Rowling posting a picture of Stewart near the sign with the caption “I too beam with delight when having my photograph taken with things of which I am entirely unaware”.
Meanwhile, some members of the UK Conservative Party have called for a criminal investigation to take place into the existence of the sign, with some representatives seemingly keen to brand it as a form of hate speech.
“As this display of this appalling sign is clearly a hate crime and a public order offence, I have reported the matter to [Police Scotland] and would encourage others to do so,” Murdo Fraser, a Tory representative within the Scottish parliament, wrote online, adding that “[s]uch behaviour should not be tolerated in our society”.
Such censorious demands appear to have been met by police in the country, with The Times reporting that an investigation is now underway into the “hateful” banners present at the demonstration.