Sectarianism scale revealed

NEARLY 60 people in the Lothians have been charged with religious hatred in the past year, figures have shown.

West Lothian had the majority of incidents with 34, followed by Edinburgh’s 22. There was not a single incident in East Lothian, with two in Midlothian.

Although the majority of incidents at football grounds took place in the west, there were four charges brought following flashpoints at Easter Road, though none at Tynecastle.

The figures have been published by the Scottish Government in a bid to shed light on sectarianism across Scotland.

Community safety minister Roseanna Cunningham said: “These statistics show the shameful reality of religious hate crime in Scotland.”