Police drop investigation into Allison Pearson over tweet

Force ditches inquiry after facing criticism for ‘appalling’ attack on free speech

Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email
Essex Police has dropped its investigation into Allison Pearson, the Telegraph journalist.
Pearson, an award-winning writer, was being investigated for allegedly stirring up racial hatred with a social media post made in November last year.
Two police officers called at her home at 9.40am on Remembrance Sunday to tell her she was under investigation and invited her to a voluntary interview. She was told, however, that the officers were not allowed to disclose the specific focus of the inquiry.
The officers refused to tell her any details about which post on X, formerly Twitter, was being investigated, or who made the complaint against her.
Pearson initially believed that the matter was being treated as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) rather than a criminal investigation.
The force responded that this was “wholly inaccurate” and said that “as the public would expect” it had body-worn video of the encounter, which it claimed “entirely supports our position”.
However, Essex Police has now dropped its investigation amid mounting criticism, including from Boris Johnson, who called the inquiry an “appalling” attack on free speech.
Pearson said on Thursday night that she was “relieved”.
She told The Telegraph: “I am immensely relieved but also it has been a dreadful experience, waking up, and going to sleep with dread. Waking up in the small hours thinking I am under police investigation, that’s not nice for anyone let alone a law-abiding citizen.
“I feel angry with Essex Police, I do not believe there was ever any case to answer, I was expressing my opinion in what I thought was a free society.
“I want to see an end to the non-crime hate incidents. It is not a British idea, it is something you get in China or North Korea and the fact that it has been allowed to spread like Japanese knotweed through our society should be cause for grave concern.
“It is a win for The Telegraph. I hope it is a win for common sense. I am vindicated personally but I have become far more concerned about how widespread this is and how it is casting a chilling effect on free speech.
“I would like to sincerely thank all the Telegraph readers. Their support has meant the absolute world.”
The investigation prompted a major backlash from MPs, a leading barrister and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, amid claims it was an “Orwellian” overreaction and a threat to free speech.
This needs to stop https://t.co/wvwxkHvVMT
Priti Patel, the former home secretary and now the shadow foreign secretary, claimed Labour had allowed its MPs to post “hateful and insulting content with impunity” while journalists were “falling victim to the sinister efforts of some to curtail free speech”.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: “This is Orwellian in the extreme”, while Mr Johnson also criticised the force, adding that police were being “forced to behave like a woke Securitate.”
Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Middleton South, described the police investigation as “Stasi-like”.
He said police should be focusing on fighting crime rather than intimidating journalists and threatening press freedom.
Mr Stringer, the Labour MP, said on Thursday: “I am pleased to see that the exposure to discussion in the Commons seems to have helped persuade the police to withdraw their action.”
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, said the decision was an “embarrassment” for the police and demonstrated why the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) needed to be scrapped.
“What a waste of vital police time and resources. This is an embarrassment for the police and the government and questions need to be asked about how this matter got so out of hand in the first place,” she told The Telegraph.
“This case shows how shambolic NCHIs are and how they are a threat to free speech. How many thousands of people are being harassed unfairly with NCHIs but are not well-known public figures who can raise this injustice? NCHIs need to be scrapped.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “It should never have come to this. The police should not be policing thought or speech.
“Police time should only be spent on criminality or behaviour likely to lead imminently to criminality.
“I urge the Government to urgently change the guidelines on NCHIs to stop it happening again.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader, said: “Hallelujah!! Common sense at last.
“However I still think that serious questions need to be asked about the leadership of the police which seems to have been sold out to the malicious protesters who represent a tiny proportion of the electorate.
“Get back on the streets where shoplifting is rife and gang violence ever-present.”
Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, which provided legal support for Pearson, said Essex Police should now return to “policing our streets, not our tweets”.
He said: “Essex Police should never have investigated this tweet in the first place. It didn’t come close to being a criminal offence, which they’ve now effectively acknowledged.
“I hope the public outcry over this huge waste of time and resources means Essex Police will go back to policing our streets, not our tweets. It’s not their job to investigate newspaper columnists for wrongthink.”
The Crown Prosecution Service advised that no charges should be brought against Pearson after reviewing the case.
Essex Police said it would therefore take no further action and the investigation was now closed.
The scale of the investigation was revealed by The Telegraph, with officers from the Metropolitan Police, Sussex Police and Essex Police all handling the complaint over the past year.
Allison Pearson
The Telegraph understands that the post was reported to the Metropolitan Police as a potential breach of the Malicious Communications Act in November last year. The case was then passed to Sussex Police, which marked it as a possible non-crime hate incident (NCHI).
Sussex Police passed it to Essex, where Pearson lives. It is understood Essex made two assessments of the complaint before opening an investigation under section 17 of the Public Order Act 1986, relating to material allegedly “likely or intended to cause racial hatred”.
Roger Hirst, the police, fire and crime commissioner for Essex, said he would “closely scrutinise Essex Police’s approach to this case on behalf of the public”.
He added: “Having discussed this with the Chief Constable I have agreed that he should commission NPCC national hate crime lead, Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, to undertake an independent review. This will support my scrutiny of the force’s approach.
“It is important the public have confidence in their police service. This investigation has caused significant distress for Ms Pearson and a large amount of public concern. 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.
“My role as the police, fire and crime commissioner for Essex is to ensure the police exercise their powers effectively, without fear or favour, and that is what I will continue to do.”
An Essex Police spokesman said: “We investigate crimes reported to us without fear or favour.
“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.”
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email