Allison Pearson claims ‘bullied’ experience in police investigation

Columnist Allison Pearson, a journalist for The Daily Telegraph, stated she experienced feeling “bullied and threatened” following a visit from Essex Police concerning an investigation into one of her social media posts, which has since been discontinued. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, she asserted that the police attendance at her residence was not “standard practice” and was “absolutely unacceptable”. Essex Police stated that officers visited Ms. Pearson on 10 November with the purpose of scheduling an interview as part of an inquiry into alleged incitement to racial hatred, initiated by a complaint from a member of the public. The police force had previously defended its conduct. On Thursday, it declared the investigation had been terminated and that an independent review of its management of the case would be conducted. The BBC has reached out to Essex Police to obtain a comment regarding Ms. Pearson’s recent remarks. “It is not standard practice to turn up on someone’s doorstep when there is such a minor charge,” Ms. Pearson informed the BBC on Friday. She further stated: “Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader and many other people in the law, in politics, in normal walks of life, have said that is totally outrageous.” She also mentioned: “We have shown that tweet to many King’s Counsels, to a former solicitor general, to two former home secretaries and to indeed, two very senior police officers – each one of them has said it does not come near to approaching the threshold for any kind of investigation.” Ms. Pearson brought attention to the police visit in an article she authored for the Telegraph, asserting that the officers who attended her residence informed her the matter concerned a “non-crime hate incident”, but did not specify which post was involved. The force, however, stated that body camera footage of the event did not indicate its officers informed her that the report under investigation was being classified as a “non-crime hate incident”. A “non-crime hate incident” is defined as an occurrence where no criminal offense has taken place, yet the individual reporting it perceives the incident as being driven by hostility. Essex Police defended its conduct previously, noting that the officer had stated the complaint was recorded as “an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online”. Nevertheless, Ms. Pearson conveyed to the BBC that the tweet did not justify a visit to her home. She elaborated: “They are under no obligation for such a small tweet to come to a person’s house, and make them frightened, and I have had almost 10 days of real dread and tears and fear, and that is not acceptable.” She remarked that “anyone can make an allegation and have it taken seriously”, and further mentioned that the force receives “thousands” of comparable complaints but does not investigate every single one. “This was wholly disproportionate… Why did Essex Police escalate it with me?” she questioned. The BBC has reviewed the now-removed post that was the subject of the police complaint. It originated on 16 November 2023 and depicts an image of two police officers alongside two men displaying what seems to be a flag of the Pakistani political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The post included a tag for the Metropolitan Police and the phrase “how dare they”. It also 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.” The platform X appended a notice to the post, clarifying that the image was captured in Manchester, not London, and that it is “not related to Palestine”. Ms. Pearson expressed that she did not believe her tweet was incorrect, adding: “I won’t censor myself but I will be more watchful in the future.” In an earlier statement, Essex Police indicated that 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”. A spokesperson for Essex Police had previously affirmed that the force “investigate crimes reported to us without fear or favour”. The spokesperson added: “We’re sometimes faced with allegations of crime where people have strong opposing views. That’s why we work so hard to remain impartial and to investigate allegations, regardless of where they might lead.” Several political figures, including shadow home secretary Chris Philp and former prime minister Boris Johnson, expressed their support for Ms. Pearson, thereby initiating a discussion concerning free speech. In response to this debate, Essex Police had previously stated its support for free speech, but clarified that “it does not support inaccuracy”. The force further commented: “If an alleged crime is reported, it is investigated. There is no public interest in falsehood.” The National Police Chiefs Council’s hate crime lead has been requested to conduct an independent review of how the force managed the situation. Roger Hirst, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, remarked that it was “important the public have confidence in their police service”. He added: “This investigation has caused significant distress for Ms Pearson and a large amount of public concern.” He concluded: “It has raised a number of important questions that need to be addressed so all of us can be confident the police are acting properly.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.