I can’t say too much about this case because it is ongoing and I don’t wish to prejudice it or be found in contempt of court.

What I can say is that Marion Millar, a mother of two vulnerable children, has been charged by Scottish police under the Malicious Communications Act in relation to tweets which are allegedly homophobic and transphobic in nature.

Those charges are ludicrous for at least four reasons: first, Marion is not a homophobe or a transphobe and there are many gay and trans people among her supporters. The image above shows the back seat of Marion’s car as she arrived at court on August 31st 2021 with her friends Mr Menno (a gay man) and Seven Hex (a transsexual male). Second, even Twitter, which is notoriously censorial and hair-triggered when it comes to trans issues has apparently not deemed the tweets in question transphobic or homophobic. It has not suspended Marion’s account and it has not deleted the tweets in question.

Third, a woman is being threatened with up to two years in prison for tweets. One might be offended by a tweet, but nobody has the right not to be offended. Police Scotland’s action of arresting, charging and trying a woman for something as subjective and deliberately ill-defined as ‘hatred’ or ‘offence’ is more chilling – more offensive by far- than anything Marion could possibly have tweeted.

Finally, much worse things are tweeted every single day. Much worse things have been tweeted at Marion (including credible threats, horrible accusations and a great deal of hatred). Much worse things have been tweeted even at me, a very marginal voice on this issue. Much worse is tweeted in enormous volume at women as a matter of banal routine. Children’s authors receive pipe bomb threats. Women are gleefully hounded from public spaces day after day because a small group of people does not like their views or their tenacity.

If Marion is convicted of these insane charges, she faces up to two years in jail. Her vulnerable children will be placed at further risk. Because of tweets. Her business, livelihood, relationship and, now, her home are already at risk because of repeated (and largely successful) efforts by gender identity extremists to shut down every attempt Marion and her supporters make to raise funds for her defence.

I want to be very clear here. Everyone in the UK has the right to mount the best defence they can when they’re charged with a crime. This is the case regardless of the charges or what anyone might believe about their character. Interfering with a person’s ability to mount a defence is not virtuous. It is anti-democratic, it is anti-justice and it is the act of a bully.

Because of these repeated attempts to shut down her ability to mount a defence, Marion has, as of yesterday, stated that she will no longer be seeking financial assistance and has placed her house on the market to raise the money she needs without help. She has done this because she wants to avoid placing further stress on her friends and supporters and putting them in harm’s way.

If you’re one of the people who has interfered with Marion’s ability to mount a defence then you need to stop it at once and carefully examine your motives and your life. I doubt you’d bay so keenly for blood if the cause or the person were ones you admired.

If you didn’t know this was happening, then you do now and have no excuse.

And if you aren’t shouting this travesty from the rooftops then – with a close eye on your own safety – you should be.

This is a terrifying overreach of power by Police Scotland and it’s a matter that affects us all. Unlike those attacking Marion, blinded by their ideology, my position on tweeting would remain the same regardless of the tweets: free speech is essential and must be protected. Some speech has consequences, but those consequences must be in proportion to any offence. Mobs must not rule what may be said in public. My position on mounting a defence would also remain the same, regardless of charges or circumstance: any attempt to interfere with a defence – including fundraising – is anti-democratic and anti-justice. And it’s shameful.

But as it happens, I stand with Marion Millar. I don’t believe for a moment that she’s done anything wrong. I don’t believe she’s transphobic or homophobic. I don’t think she’s hateful or has conducted herself in a hateful way.

She’s guilty of nothing more than standing up for the rights of women in Scotland and refusing to wheesht. This latter remains, as it always has been, the greatest offence a woman can commit.

#IStandWithMarionMillar

#WomenWontWheesht