A SCOTTISH lawyer has blamed the internet for a sudden revival in sectarianism in the West of Scotland, mainly revolving around the two main football teams, Celtic and Rangers.

Paul McBride QC, who was sent a parcel bomb last week, presumably because at some stage he acted for Celtic FC, told Today presenter James Naughtie that the problem is being fuelled by websites encouraging people to commit acts of violence.

“The internet appears to be a driver for individuals to come together and spew their hatred and bile out,” he explained, and added that sectarianism in the West of Scotland needs to be addressed using a joint approach by the police, the churches, politicians and the football clubs themselves.

Pah! He’ll be lucky.

Most of my growing-up took place on that wet and windy coast, birthplace of Rabbie Burns, Johnnie Walker whisky and the deep-fried black pudding.

My mum, my sister and various relatives still live there, and make no mistake, the bigotry and mistrust is so utterly entrenched that the only thing that could change it would be a joint state visit by the Queen and the Pope, where they walked into Ibrox, arm-in-arm, her swathed in the green, white and gold Irish tricolour and him in a jauntily-angled mitre decorated with the union flag.

This is an area where the first question asked of a new acquaintance isn’t where they come from, but what team they support or which school they attend.

Loaded questions indeed, for while the Scottish Football Association may suggest otherwise, there are only two teams, and the one you back immediately reveals your persuasion – Rangers, proddy (Protestant), Celtic, Tim or Fenian (Catholic) and if your school’s name is prefixed with Saint, it’s a no-brainer where you spend your Sunday mornings.

As a youngster we tended to play with our ‘own’, though I had pals from both sides; mind you, thinking about it, one of them was not allowed to have me in her house.

One girl’s dad hated Celtic (ergo Catholics) so much that he had his lawn completely concreted over because it was the same green as the team’s strip, another was only allowed Catholics at her parties and another one’s granddad had a baccy tin with a photo of William of Orange (King Billy) glued to it.

Most locals claim to be able to tell what you are just by looking at you.

For some, the Glorious 12th heralds the start of the August grouse shooting season.

For Scotland’s west coasters, it means July 12, a day when Protestants don their sashes and take to the streets to participate in Orange walks and Catholics take to their front windows to hold up pictures of the Pope in silent angry protest as the ‘enemy’ marches past. Brian Sullivan, a Glaswegian Catholic now living in Bournemouth, remembers the bigotry well.

“As a kid it was all about the football,” he says.

“Guys who may have been your best mates during the week were not on a Saturday if they supported the other team.

“When I was older, I missed out on a job with a family firm, after they asked me if I would be willing to work Sundays. I replied honestly that I couldn’t do every Sunday, then realised it was a loaded question.

“If a pub had a photo of the Queen above the bar – you knew to avoid it.”

Brian, whose wife is a Protestant, says that since moving here they have experienced none of the bias or bigotry that they did up north.

“The one time there was some unity was after the Ibrox (football stadium) disaster where the harsh reality was losing good friends, regardless of religion, but it will never change. As long as people have memories,” he said, sadly.

Mr McBride QC’s citing the internet as a breeding ground for hatred will surprise no one, for bigoted, venomous rants aimed at just about every sector of the community you can think of are increasing at an alarming rate, and not all can be put down to ignorance.

As a child, I felt saddened and frustrated at how the whole sectarian beast limited ours and other people’s lives (we couldn’t compete with certain schools at sports and the likes), regardless of sides, yet for a while it seemed to lose its bite. But this disturbing fervour of forum-posters for inciting intolerance and hatred towards anything and everything appears to know no bounds and I fear McBride could be right.

It’s not just in Scotland either. Simply look on most web forums and whether it’s religion, colour, size, culture or even hobby, it seems there is endless grist for this malicious modern mill.