Only 21% of Scottish voters want to retain the controversial hate crime law.

Since coming into force on Monday, April 1, more than 6,000 complaints have been made to Police Scotland.

A fresh poll, commissioned independently by the Alba Party, found that just one in five Scots want to retain the bill, while more than double as many (45%) want it to see the act repealed.

Around 34% of the 1,000 adults polled said they didn't know.

The strength of feeling was strongest among Conservatives as three quarters said they wanted to repeal the act.

Just under half of Labour voters didn't support the act, while nearly a third of SNP voters want it abolished.

Ash Regan, a former SNP minister and the Alba Party's only MSP, said: "The first minister must listen to the views of the people of Scotland and I would call on my former colleagues in the SNP, and others across parliament, to now side with those that want to see this act repealed.

"The government has either displayed incompetence in the legislative process or they have deliberately misled to enable the bill to pass through parliament seamlessly."

Only the Scottish Conservatives have joined Regan in supporting abolishing the law, though a number of Labour MSPs have spoken out against it, while two SNP MSPs abstained from voting on the issue.

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