Police Scotland has confirmed that neither JK Rowling nor Humza Yousaf will have a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) logged against their names, despite multiple complaints against them after Scotland's new hate crime legislation took effect.

A force spokesperson said: “The circumstances have been assessed and will not be recorded as a Non-Crime Hate Incident.”

Tory MSP, Murdo Fraser, who does have an NCHI recorded against his name, despite committing no crime, claimed the decision "reeks of political bias."

He said the service had "breached their own policy on recording non-crime hate incidents" and was "making it up as they go along."

READ MORE: Police Scotland under pressure over JK Rowling Non Crime Hate Incident

Taking to X, Ms Rowling welcomed the decision: "Again, I trust everyone will be treated the same way if they express themselves similarly.

"Nobody should have a 'Hate Incident' logged against them for accurately describing, or asserting the importance and reality, of biological sex. We must all be equal under the law."

Confirmation from the force that neither the Harry Potter author nor the First Minister would have an NCHI against their details, came after almost 24 hours of pressure from politicians, campaigners and journalists.

However, the decision will almost certainly trigger more questions. 

Police Scotland’s guidance states that “for recording purposes, the perception of the victim or any other person is the defining factor in determining whether an incident is a hate incident or in recognising the malice element of a crime”.

It goes on to add that “evidence of malice and ill-will is not required for a hate crime or hate incident to be recorded and thereafter investigated as a hate crime or hate incident by police."

Earlier in the day, Siobhian Brown, the Scottish Government Minister for Victims and Community Safety, defended the use of NCHIs.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, she said recording incidents even when no criminality was a long-established practice for the force.

“It gives the police, from their side of things sort of an understanding of tensions in communities. So it's obviously it's not criminality, but this has been happening for a very long time.”

Mr Fraser was reported to police in November last year when he shared a column written by Susan Dalgety for The Scotsman, which claimed the SNP Government’s non-binary equality action plan would lead to children being “damaged by this cult”.

Commenting on the post, Mr Fraser said: “Choosing to identify as ‘non-binary’ is as valid as choosing to identify as a cat. I’m not sure governments should be spending time on action plans for either.”

Despite the officer who followed up on the complaint determining no crime had been committed, the MSP later discovered that it had been recorded as a "hate incident.”

Mr Fraser said that meant Police Scotland had taken a different approach to comments made by the SNP First Minister to those made by an opposition politician.

"It is hard not to conclude that Police Scotland has been captured by the SNP policy agenda and that this is a decision that reeks of political bias.

“I hope the Chief Constable will contact me urgently with an immediate apology for recording a hate incident against me and confirming all records in relation to it have been destroyed.

"They should also ditch their existing unlawful policy – as has been done in England and Wales – which I believe is a clear breach of people’s human rights.”

READ MORE: Hate Crime: Tory MSP threatens Police Scotland with legal action

A number of complaints were made about Ms Rowling on Monday when she took to X to say the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act was “wide open to abuse by activists who wish to silence” gender-critical feminists.

She shared pictures of Isla Bryson, a double rapist previously known as Adam Graham who only began identifying as a woman after being charged, and Amy George, also known as Andrew Miller, a Borders butcher who abducted an 11-year-old girl while dressed in women's clothing and then sexually assaulted her and kept her captive for over 27 hours.

Ms Rowling also posted pictures of the broadcaster India Willoughby, the activist Munroe Bergdorf, and Mridul Wadhwa, the chief executive of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. All three are transwomen.

She said that all the people mentioned in the tweets “aren't women at all, but men, every last one of them.”

“I'm currently out of the country, but if what I've written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment,” she added.

Her tweet ended with a hashtag reading "arrest me."

However, Police said the comments were "not assessed to be criminal and no further action will be taken."

Mr Yousaf was reported to police for a speech made in 2020 about the lack of people of colour in positions of power in the Scottish Parliament and government.

A 45-second clip of the address is often shared on social media. Last year, Elon Musk described the First Minister as "a blatant racist.”

Police Scotland confirmed it had received “a number of complaints” in relation to the speech. 

“Earlier complaints regarding this matter were assessed at the time and it was established no crime was committed and no further action was required."

Responding to the decision not to give Mr Yousaf or Ms Rowling an NCHI, the SNP MP Joanna Cherry said the force seemed to be "revising their policy on recording non-crime hate incidents on the hoof in order to avoid the embarrassment of recording incidents against an internationally, renowned author and philanthropist and the First Minister of Scotland."

She added: "This really isn’t good enough and calls into question the application of the policy to date. The policy should be applied equally to everyone.

"Police Scotland should wipe their existing database of non-crime hate incidents and carry out a proper review of their policy in line with the principle of equality before the law."

A recent court case south of the border forced a change to the College of Policing guidance on recording hate crime incidents, which means forces in England and Wales do not record anything "trivial, malicious or irrational."