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A veteran journalist received an unexpected visit from British police on Remembrance Sunday, investigating her for allegedly inciting racial hatred through social media posts.
Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson described how two officers arrived at her doorstep to question her about comments she made on X (formerly Twitter) approximately a year ago. Upon requesting details about the alleged offensive content, the officers declined to specify.
The thought police went knocking on my friends door, over a non crime hate incident, this country is finished.
I stand with @AllisonPearson ✍🏽 @SpeechUnion pic.twitter.com/QAldgQKShy
— Adam Brooks AKA EssexPR 🇬🇧 (@EssexPR) November 14, 2024
The conservative writer suggests the investigation might relate to her posts about Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel, which coincided with widespread anti-Israel demonstrations across Britain at that time.
Adding to the peculiarity of the situation, Pearson noted that officers refused to identify the complainant, instead referring to them as “the victim.”
“It was surreal. (I have hundreds of black and Asian followers on X/Twitter; none of them ever suggested I’d said something bad or hateful. Besides, who decides where you set the bar for what’s offensive?) This is supposed to be 2024, not 1984, yet the police officers seemed to be operating according to the George Orwell operational manual,” Pearson wrote for The Telegraph.
Essex Police later confirmed their investigation of a woman under section 17 of the Public Order Act 1986, concerning content potentially inciting racial hatred.
“We’re investigating a report passed to us by another force. The report relates to a social media post which was subsequently removed. An investigation is now being carried out under section 17 of the Public Order Act,” a police spokesman said.
Despite previous Conservative government attempts to limit thought crime prosecutions, many hate speech laws remained intact, enabling the current Labour government to enhance censorship measures. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has worked to strengthen hate speech restrictions and reinstate broader recording of non-crime hate incidents.
Since 2014, British police have documented over 120,000 non-crime hate incidents in criminal databases, despite these incidents not constituting actual crimes. These records can significantly impact employment prospects through background checks, yet individuals have limited recourse to challenge their inclusion since no formal trials occur.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman criticized the investigation, stating: “We need to stop policing words on social media [and] tackle actual crimes. My message to Labour: protect freedom of speech, stop the overreach and focus on keeping our streets safe.”
Knock knock!
Who’s there?
Pc Plod
What’s the problem?
Can’t tell you
Who’s saying there’s issue?
Can’t say!
On Remembrance Day here’s a “Non Crime Hate Incident” visit @AllisonPearson
1984 = 2024
This must stop @ukhomeoffice @PoliceChiefs
— Alan D Miller (@alanvibe) November 13, 2024
Free Speech Union director Toby Young added: “It’s little wonder that 93 per cent of car-related crimes went unsolved in Essex last year. The local officers are too busy policing journalists’ tweets to police their streets.”
“I’m sure they’d prefer to be investigating actual crimes rather than ‘non-crimes’, but their politically correct bosses are more concerned with punishing wrongthink.”
