Essex Police has said it is investigating Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson under a possible breach of the Public Order Act over a year-old, now-deleted post on X.
The force has faced criticism that its tactics amounted to an attack on press freedom after officers visited Pearson at home on Remembrance Sunday. She said she was told officers could not tell her what the offending post was or who had made the complaint against her and was asked to attend a police station for a voluntary interview.
But the force since said it has complained to press regulator the Independent Press Standards Organisation, claiming Pearson’s original claim in the Telegraph last week that she was visited over a “non-crime hate incident” was inaccurate.
On Saturday morning, 16 November, the force said it had shared a transcript of video footage with IPSO which includes an officer saying: “It’s gone down as an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online. That would be the offence.”
The force said: “A complaint of a possible criminal offence was made to the police and this is why we called; to arrange an interview”.
The Guardian reported on Friday that it had found the deleted message at the centre of the complaint and has spoken anonymously to the person who appears to be behind the Allison Pearson complaint.
Pearson is alleged to have re-posted a picture showing two police officers standing next to a group of people holding a flag associated with a mainstream Pakistani political party.
A deleted message, retrieved from online archives by Press Gazette, sent by Pearson on 16 November 2023 said: “How dare they @metpoliceuk. Invited to pose for a photo with lovely peaceful British Friends of Israel on Saturday police refused. Look at this lot smiling with the Jew haters.”
The message was viewed more than 400,000 times according to X. Context added to the message by other X users noted that the picture appeared to be from a protest which took place in August 2023 in Mancheseter relating to a Pakistani political party and said the event had no relation to Palestine, Israel or Hamas.
The complainant is not one of the people in the photograph. The person told The Guardian: “Each time an influential person makes negative comments about people of colour I, as a person of colour, see an uptick in racist abuse towards me and the days after that tweet are no different.”
Press Gazette reproduces the excerpt from the website archive.is below. The image has been altered by Press Gazette to obscure the faces of those appearing in it.
What is the Public Order Act and how can journalists breach it?
For an offence to be a committed under the Public Order Act 1986 the language used must be “threatening, abusive or insulting” and “intended to or likely in all the circumstances to stir up racial hatred”.
Journalists can fall foul of the act when reporting on extreme political statements.
Crown Prosecution Service guidance states: “In deciding upon the public interest of charging these offences it is essential that prosecutors keep in mind that in a free, democratic, and tolerant society people are able to robustly exchange views, even when these may cause offence. However, the rights of the individual to freedom of expression must be balanced against the duty of the state to act proportionately in the interests of public safety, to prevent disorder and crime, and to protect the rights of others.”
What does Allison Pearson have to say?
Writing on X on Saturday, in a post which has been viewed more than three million times, Pearson said:
“The story so far.
“1. I am not a racist.
“2. I didn’t post a racist tweet.
“3. My tweet did not incite violence against any protected characteristic.
“4. My fairly innocuous tweet was deleted a year ago.
“5. Senior lawyers say my tweet does ‘not come near the threshold for criminal prosecution’.
“6. But Essex Police upgraded the accusation from Non-Crime Hate Incident to offence under the Public order Act. Why?
“7. Essex Police visited my home but refused to specify either the accusation or the accuser.
“8. Under pressure, Essex Police deployed the terrorist-fighting Gold Command to investigate a solitary Welsh journalist 5ft 4 inches who still believes in freedom of speech. Weird, I know.
“9. This is all nonsense. Deeply sinister, frightening nonsense and wholly disproportionate police over-reach if you ask me.
“10. Last night, I realised I no longer feel safe in my own country.
“A terrible moment. As Elon Musk said, ‘This must stop.’ It really must.”
Non-crime hate incidents
Feminist Julie Bindel, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said she was also visited by police on a Sunday over an allegation of committing a “hate crime” over a message she had posted on X. She said she was given no further details and asked to attend a police station voluntarily to make a statement. Bindel refused and said she was told the investigation was being dropped.
Police forces around the UK are believed to be keeping records of thousands of “non-crime hate incidents” which are often based on social media posts and occur when no criminal offence has been committed but when a complainant believes a statement was motivated by hostility or prejudice.
Telegraph calls for change in the law
In a leader column The Sunday Telegraph warned that “overzealous police officers” are “choosing to focus their effort on policing thoughts and speech rather than cracking down on violent crime or theft”.
It said: “Many overseas are watching, and appear horrified that in a supposedly free and democratic society journalists and politicians can face criminal investigation for expressing strongly worded opinions…
“Until we get a government willing to change the law, a small minority of activists will retain the ability to comb wording for offence and abuse police procedure as a means to intimidate opponents.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked about the Pearson case yesterday. He said: “There is a review going on of this particular aspect but I think that as a general principle the police should concentrate on what matters most to their communities.”
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