Monday January 17, 10:28 AM
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The Scotsman

Ministers set to give ground on Section 28

The government is prepared to offer an olive branch in the form of a review of guidelines for teachers if the clause is repealed. The First Minister also hinted strongly that he was prepared to allow a free vote when the issue goes before parliament.
The executive had previously insisted that existing guidelines were sufficient to protect child-ren from exposure to unsuitable material if Section 28 was scrapped.

However, the First Minister's spokesman admitted last night that ministers were preparing to re-examine the current rules governing teachers. He said: "If we are going to go ahead with this and get it through then we will need to look at the guidelines to make sure they are as tough as they need to be.

"Parents can be assured that, while Mr Dewar is First Minister, there is nothing going to go into Scottish classrooms that he is uncomfortable with."

Mr Dewar is understood to be anxious to avoid a public slanging match over the issue, which the executive fears will only inflame public opinion and galvanise support for the campaign against repeal.

Opponents of repeal, bolster-ed by the offer by Brian Souter, Scotland's richest man, to bankroll their campaign, said there had been "significant movement" in the executive's position as a result of the pressure being brought to bear.

Jack Irvine, Mr Souter's spokesman, said: "We are glad that they are starting to realise what the people of Scotland are saying, but we will accept no wishy-washy compromise. We regard this as a fight to the death and, unless we have the protection of Section 28 or something just as strong, we are not interested in compromise."

However, Ann Hill, the chief executive of the Scottish School Boards Association, which is leading the campaign against the executive's proposals, was more conciliatory. She suggest-ed that a review of the guidelines might be enough to placate most of those opposed to repeal. "We are not against the repeal of Section 28 in principle," she said. "We are against the way it is proposed at the moment. It needs some tweaking."

Mr Dewar refused to be drawn on the involvement of Mr Souter, who has offered up to half a million pounds to the SSBA campaign. Gay rights groups have threatened to boycott Mr Souter's company, Stagecoach, claiming it is inappropriate for an individual in his position to use their wealth to try to influence legislation, but the First Minister said he did not want to personalise the issue.

"This is not a question of per-sonalities," he said. "Everyone has a right to put their point of view to the best of their ability, I have made that very clear."

He also intimated that he was prepared to allow a free vote on Section 28 when it goes before parliament. "I am someone who certainly believes in the conscience clause and that is always going to be there to protect the conscience of individuals," he told BBC Scotland's Holyrood programme.

He said it was "nonsense" to suggest that scrapping Section 28 would encourage the promotion of homosexuality. "What we are doing is to take away from the statute book a clause which I don't think gives any real safeguards, and which I don't think has been useful in any sense, and which is seen as deeply offensive by many citizens in our community." But he insisted that, even if official polls showed that most Scots were opposed to the scrapping of Section 28, the executive would not be bound by it.

Mr Irvine said that questions over the legality of Mr Souter's charitable foundation funding of the SSBA campaign, given its political nature, were irrelevant and would not stop his support. "If it is found that the Souter Foundation cannot support the campaign, then he will simply write his own cheque. He is very transparent in his dealings."

The intervention of Mr Souter is particularly embarrassing for the executive and Wendy Alexander, the communities minister, who proposed the scrapping of Section 28, as the entrepreneur was appointed a "champion for change" in the government's drive to modernise local government.

However, Mr Irvine said that public opinion was firmly behind Mr Souter and accused the executive of not bringing the issues properly into the public domain. "We are being flooded by messages of support," he said. "MSPs are saying their mailbags are running 20 to one in favour of Mr Souter's view.

"It would appear Wendy [Alexander] and her chums just wanted to slide this one through. It was kept very, very low key and has only been highlighted by the media."

Ms Alexander rejected the claim and insisted that the executive was prepared to give parents a guarantee on the suitability of what is taught in Scottish schools. "I do not think it is clear that we have got it wrong with public opinion," she said.

The SSBA will decide today whether to accept Mr Souter's offer of financial support.