I am surprised that the case of Mr Andrew Brews has not been more prominent in the Scottish media.
Consequently, I’m happy to bring it to your attention dear reader.
This report in the Courier covers the story well.
You can read it here.
The victim of this crime, James Dornan MSP said:
“I welcome the conviction of Andrew Brews, an ex-soldier in Northern Ireland, for tweeting that as a ‘dirty little nationalist rat’ I ‘deserved one behind the ear’.
“This all came about because of a photo of me at a centenary commemoration of Scottish women who had fought in the Irish War of Independence. It appears that a show of support for the creation of the Irish Republic is enough to send Mr Brews into such a rage that his so-called ‘knee-jerk reaction’ is to suggest I deserve to be murdered in a sectarian-style assassination.
“I remain firmly of the view that, had he used the same language about a Westminster MP who opposed Brexit, for example, Mr Brews would have been starting a custodial sentence.
“On the day of the funeral of MP David Amess, I restate my belief that behaviour and language such as this against MSPs must be met with the full force of the law.
“Meanwhile, I will never bow to bigots or bullies such as Mr Brews and will continue to fight for what I believe is right.
“Finally, Mr Brews is apparently a residential landlord. My advice would be to avoid his properties lest you say something with which he disagrees and he suggests you also deserve one behind the ear.”
I find it impossible to disagree with Mr Dornan’s logic apropos the disposal chosen by the court.
In my opinion, Mr Brews should consider himself exceedingly fortunate to have had only a monetary penalty imposed on him.
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This was great opportunity, not taken, to highlight abusive, sectarian and threatening behaviour on a social media platform. A slap on the wrist just doesn’t cut it as it is no deterrent to those who are ‘big’ behind a keyboard. HH
The anger and vitriol on sites like twitter etc is a modern curse. I suspect the case did not get a lot of prominence as this is a regular occurrence. One MP reported 700 yes 700 abusive messages including many death threats. The attitudes need to be tackled via education and the huge profits of these platforms need to be party directed at stopping such abuse. It is out of control.
He seems to know the modus operandi.
Ah, good old Scottish law, if it’s anti Irish/Catholic give them a wee slap on the wrist.
Chilling but sadly I don’t think he’s lucky to only have a monetary penalty.
If this had been an Irish Republican supporter to a Unionist politician then a substantial incarceration would have resulted.
Further to James Dornan’s comment about Brews being a residential Landlord, there is a register of these in Scotland, which stipulates a standard before being allowed to rent out properties.
I trust the relevant councils are reviewing this and applying the appropriate sanctions.
It’s no surprise that it’s one rule for certain protected sections of society and another for those who are not.
Only the other night we witnessed the clown who is the UK Prime Minister making a complete Peppa Pig of himself.
My first reaction on seeing his performance was that Boris was drunk, yet apart from giving great ammunition to UK comedians, no one else raised the possibility that he had one to many.
It speaks volumes of the UK electorate that they voted for someone who, personally, I wouldn’t send to pick up a free newspaper without mucking it up.
Excellent point. What if one of his customers got behind with rental payments?
This type of animal would more than likely encourage his residents to pay behind the door.