Anger as police say pro-Palestine activists' poster of actress Maureen Lipman as devil was NOT a hate crime

By GRAHAM GRANT, SCOTTISH HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR Published: 21:21, 3 June 2026 | Updated: 21:21, 3 June 2026 Police Scotland has been criticised after ruling that an ‘anti-Semitic’ image of Dame Maureen Lipman was not a hate crime. The Mail revealed last month that the force was assessing a photograph on Facebook of the actress with red devil’s horns and a trident. It was posted by pro-Palestine activists calling for her to be dropped from a play, sparking concern among Scotland’s Jewish community. The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), which posted the image, lobbied for people to back a petition demanding that the 80-year-old ‘national treasure’ be stopped from taking to the stage. Police have logged the photograph as a non-crime hate incident, which means officers believed that it fell short of criminality, although details have been kept on file. The decision comes despite the implementation of the Hate Crime Act which came into force in 2024 and introduced new offences of ‘stirring up hatred’. The Act criminalised the ‘communication of threatening or abusive material which is intended to stir up hatred against a group of people’. Timothy Lovat, chairman of the Jewish Council of Scotland, who reported the image to police, said: ‘I had a meeting with the Chief Constable last week and she told me this was the case. Police Scotland outside His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen after the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) called on Aberdeen Performing Arts to cancel Dame Maureen Lipman's appearance at the venue The poster was reported to the police by the Jewish Council of Scotland ‘I don’t understand what a non-crime hate incident is – if it is a hate incident, then in my humble opinion it should be a crime.’  He claimed there was a ‘reluctance from Police Scotland to charge people with these sorts of crimes’, adding: ‘Until there is a conscious effort from all parties to put a stop to this anti-Semitic hate, then the Jewish community in Scotland will remain unsafe in their own homes.’ Dame Maureen appeared at His Majesty’s Theatre (HMT) in Aberdeen from May 26-30 in a touring ‘heart-warming comedy with music’ called Allegra, by Peter Quilter. The SPSC launched an online petition headed ‘Stop Maureen Lipman Performing at HMT Aberdeen’, while the SPSC in Aberdeen posted the image of Dame Maureen with devil’s horns. In medieval Christian folklore and artwork, Jews were depicted with grotesque characteristics such as devil’s horns and other Satanic features. Last month, a Police Scotland spokesman told the Mail: ‘We have received a report [regarding the Dame Maureen post] which is being assessed. ‘Officers are also liaising with partners and continue to proactively engage with the Jewish community.’ Mr Lovat said at the time that the post was ‘absolutely anti-Semitic and disgusting – this is the kind of thing which is leading to anti-Semitic attacks on our streets’. Last month, the SPSC said: ‘Over the past decade Lipman has openly voiced extremist, Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab views.  'Write to Aberdeen Performing Arts [the taxpayer-funded charity which runs HMT] and make it clear: racists are not welcome here.’ People signing up online could send the the arts charity a pro forma letter which claimed ‘Lipman’s positions are clear'. Dame Maureen told LBC recently that she believes anti-Semitism in the UK has reached levels akin to the pogroms in Nazi Germany in 1933, following the stabbings of two Jewish men in Golders Green, London. The former Coronation Street star, who declined to comment, also called for a ban on pro-Palestine marches in London. The SPSC was also approached for comment. A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘The social media content has been assessed and recorded as a non-crime hate incident.’ The force would not comment on why the image was not being treated as a crime. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.