Police Defend Investigation into Journalist’s Social Media Post

Essex Police has justified its actions following Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson’s statement that she was left “dumbstruck” by a visit to her residence on Remembrance Sunday concerning a social media post. According to the force, officers visited Ms. Pearson as part of an inquiry into alleged incitement to racial hatred, initiated by a complaint from a member of the public. In an article, Ms. Pearson stated that the police officers who came to her home informed her the matter pertained to a “non-crime hate incident,” but did not specify which post was involved. The force, however, asserted that its officers “at no stage” told her the investigation was linked to a “non-crime hate incident.” A non-crime hate incident is defined as an occurrence where no criminal offense has been committed, but the individual reporting it believes the incident to be motivated by hostility. In a statement, Essex Police said officers “went to a residential address to arrange a time to do an interview with a woman about a complaint made by a member of the public.” “At no stage during the short interaction between the woman and our officers was she informed that the report being investigated was being treated as a non-crime hate incident. To suggest otherwise is wholly inaccurate and misleading.“As the public would expect, we have body worn video of this interaction which entirely supports our position in this respect.” Essex Police subsequently released what it identified as transcribed remarks spoken by an officer in the body-worn video, which the BBC has not reviewed. It indicates the officer stated that the complaint had “gone down as an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online.” The officer is also quoted as saying: “Because of what’s been alleged and the evidence that we’ve got, I need to just ask you some questions.” In her article, Ms. Pearson mentioned that upon the police visit, she was unaware of which post on X the complaint concerned, but noted that “a year ago, I was consumed with the aftermath of the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas” and slogans displayed at pro-Palestinian marches. The BBC has reviewed the now-deleted post, dated 16 November last year, to which the police complaint relates. It displays an image of two police officers standing beside two men holding what appears to be a flag of the Pakistani political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The post included a tag for the Metropolitan Police along with the words “how dare they.” It further stated: “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.” X appended a notice to the post, indicating that the image was captured in Manchester, not London, and that it is “not related to Palestine.” Ms. Pearson expressed her shock when police arrived at her house last Sunday morning. She said: “I was definitely shocked. Astonished. That too. Upset. How could I not be?” adding that she felt “a surge of instinctive anger. A non-crime – what the hell?” The force has since lodged a complaint with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) regulator regarding The Telegraph’s reporting of the incident. The Metropolitan Police informed the BBC that the original complaint was made by a member of the public on 18 November last year. The force stated it was contacted on social media by an individual “who wished to make an allegation that a post on X was a possible hate crime.” It added that the allegation was recorded but not investigated, and then transferred to Sussex Police on 22 November last year, as the complainant resided in that county. Sussex Police then forwarded the matter to Essex Police, where she currently lives. A number of political figures have expressed support for Ms. Pearson, including shadow home secretary Chris Philp and former prime minister Boris Johnson, sparking a debate around free speech. MP Richard Tice, deputy leader of the Reform UK party, told the BBC that the Telegraph columnist had been left “terrified and scared” by the police visit. He also called on the chief constable of Essex Police to apologize to Ms. Pearson or risk bringing the force into disrepute. The Home Office has already been examining how forces review non-crime hate incidents in balance with the right to free speech. A spokesman for the prime minister’s office said: “Ultimately it’s important that the police can capture data relating to non-crime hate incidents… to help prevent serious crimes which may later occur.“This must be balanced with the fundamental right to free speech and also ensuring that the police can spend their time dealing with the issues that matter most to our communities.” The BBC has contacted The Daily Telegraph for comment. Essex Police affirmed its support for free speech but stated that “it does not support inaccuracy.” It added: “If an alleged crime is reported, it is investigated. There is no public interest in falsehood.”