The front page of today’s @heraldscotland wrongly states that I “am taking a defamation action against a Scots actor”. This is incorrect. There is no such action in court and I note the online version has been corrected to reflect this.
Article 10 of the ECHR (which is part of Scots law) protects the right to freedom of expression.  It specifically states that the exercise of this right carries with it duties & responsibilities and may be subject to such restrictions or penalties as are
prescribed by law & are necessary in a democratic society. This is what permits us to legislate to criminalise hate speech & it is why individuals including MPs are entitled to take steps to protect their rights & reputations when people tell lies about them
Defamatory claims about my position on trans rights by the likes of the actor in question and others have effectively put a target on my back and led to online abuse and threats of sexual violence which are now the subject of criminal charges
In the circumstances I am wholly within my rights to take steps to protect my reputation and my personal safety. My partner & I have been through hell with all of this & we would appreciate being left in peace for a while
If you want to hear the full story of the consequences of the untrue & hateful things which have been said about me please listen to this interview I did with @holyroodmandy podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pol…
I hope that @ScottishPEN will take note of my position & respect my right to defend myself & my family from untrue allegations which may cause me or them harm. Thank you. I will not be commenting further

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More from @joannaccherry

23 Jan
A thread on the newly announced @theSNP Roadmap to Referendum which I have seen for first time today & am studying carefully 👇
I’m pleased that ideas previously advanced by me & others are being pursued & I hope all @theSNP members will now unite around the recognition that we need a Plan B, by which I mean a strategy which does not rely on Westminster granting a section 30 order
However, I have many questions about the detail of this new strategy, which I have seen for the first time today, and the proposed timetable, and I intend to pursue these questions at tomorrow’s SNP national assembly
Read 4 tweets
11 Jan
I’m used to nasty hatchet jobs on me. Its been a particular feature of my experience in politics. Often they come from a position of ignorance from those who have never spoken with me & wish to distort something I’ve said by taking it wholly out of context
Today’s piece in the Herald is fairly . Typical. Perhaps Mr Smith didn’t read or understand my original column? heraldscotland.com/news/19000771.…
Fortunately the Irish Times did & here’s their piece. Typical of the consistently high quality of their journalism irishtimes.com/news/ireland/i…
Read 7 tweets
8 Jan
The route to #independence must be legal & constitutional. I support Plan A of replicating the Edinburgh Agreement but there are other legal & constitutional options & it’s right for @theSNP to consider these . thenational.scot/news/18995586.…
It is foolish & dangerous to rail against having a fallback plan, should it be required. Foolish, because it undermines the carefully achieved past gains such as the concession Salmond secured from Dewar in exchange for supporting the devolution referendum
Dangerous, because it re-inforces the power of our adversary and cements in the minds of the international community that the only way Scotland can leave the UK and become independent legally and constitutionally is by replicating the 2014 referendum.
Read 6 tweets
27 Dec 20
Some follow up thoughts on a great piece by Andrew Tickell: How Scots have learned to love independence in 2020 thenational.scot/news/18970919.…
Andrew says; “Now, the idea of independence in the lead and the Union in retreat is a banal fact of Scottish life.” As others have pointed out this has parallels with where we were with #devolution post the 1992 General election.
But then, Scotland had to wait for Westminster to catch up with us before we got devolution. 5 years passed before a party that supported devolution came to power at Westminster and held a referendum
Read 9 tweets
26 Dec 20
What Priti Patel says about the law enforcement & judicial co-op parts of the deal is simply wrong. It affords us considerably less protection than we had with #EU membership -
PM's Brexit deal makes UK safer, Priti Patel insists theguardian.com/politics/2020/…
Such data sharing as we retain will be slower as not in real time. Information exchanges between police forces will be significantly reduced. We are out of the European Arrest Warrant with a poor relation replacement
Plus it’s all conditional on the #EU Commission making a positive data adequacy ruling within 4 month window
Read 4 tweets
30 Nov 20
What a shame @thetimesscot didn’t seek comment from me on this news story particularly as it reads like another sly attempt to smear me. Please read this thread.
thetimes.co.uk/article/foreig…
Had @thetimesscot spoken to me I could have told them that yes frequently posts in the US do feature me usually when they are abusing me & threatening me for standing up for #WomensRights in my work on @HumanRightsCtte. Frequently I’m sent this violent image
Unfortunately this problem started close to home & continues led by a number of actors some of whom are @theSNP members & close to Mr Smith. Despite my complaints indeed pleas for help nothing has been done to address this issue
Read 8 tweets

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