\u00a0 Police drop investigation into Allison Pearson over tweet<\/h1>
Force ditches inquiry after facing criticism for \u2018appalling\u2019 attack on free speech<\/p>
![\"Allison](\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/meips\/ADKq_NY9r6xGUss9K_dTpUWfQio_4JymqT2y3QHoKwnzjg6vvEK9B2ZCSnXt63Bx_ZyQ6gS3GQOFTWM0_SneJ0xE_i4uEc8_p68zINMdSmcFVgCbz0diKacKzuty7PCAjJLSAM92rH9lURQ1HJCvRmNOWPlIEoHfciI3lFnjoIh81zjZF3SajBuAYvA4xKoDpPTidjF8wd34yCPTALsgEwhfXRJYrVgRWLD4BxLttJk2wK3Qscnm1cfdHFUE_iUau53cVVi7vGVI=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2024\/11\/21\/TELEMMGLPICT000401577385_17322088839560_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=680\")
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Essex Police has dropped its\u00a0investigation into Allison Pearson<\/a>, the Telegraph journalist, for an alleged hate crime.<\/p> Pearson, an award-winning writer, was being investigated for\u00a0allegedly stirring up racial hatred<\/a>\u00a0with a social media post made in November last year.<\/p> Two police officers called at her home at 9.40am on Remembrance Sunday\u00a0to tell her she was under investigation<\/a>\u00a0and invited her to a voluntary interview.<\/p> The officers refused to tell her any details about which post on X, formerly Twitter,\u00a0was being investigated<\/a>, or who made the complaint against her.<\/p> After a major backlash, including from Boris Johnson who called the inquiry an \u201cappalling\u201d attack on free speech, Essex Police announced on Thursday that it had closed its investigation.<\/p> Chief Constable Mark Hobrough, the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council hate crimes lead, will now conduct an independent review of the force\u2019s handling of the case.<\/p> Reacting to the decision, Ms Pearson said that she was \u201cvindicated\u201d.<\/p><\/div><\/div> She said: \u201cI am 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\u2019s not nice for anyone let alone a law-abiding citizen.<\/p> \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p> She added: \u201cIt 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.<\/p> \u201cI would like to sincerely thank all the Telegraph readers, their support has meant the absolute world.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div> The Crown Prosecution Service advised that no charges should be brought against Ms Pearson after reviewing the case. Essex Police said it would therefore take no further action and dropped the investigation.<\/p> Pearson initially believed that the matter was\u00a0being treated as a non-crime hate incident<\/a>\u00a0(NCHI) rather than a criminal investigation.<\/p> The force responded that this was \u201cwholly inaccurate\u201d and said that \u201cas the public would expect\u201d it had body-worn video of the encounter, which it claimed \u201centirely supports our position\u201d.<\/p> However,\u00a0it prompted criticism of the incidents<\/a>, which do not meet the criminal threshold but are recorded by police regardless.<\/p> Ms Pearson\u2019s treatment was attacked by MPs, a leading barrister and Elon Musk,\u00a0the world\u2019s richest man<\/a>, amid claims it was an \u201cOrwellian\u201d over-reaction and a potential threat to free speech.<\/p><\/div><\/div> Graham Stringer, the Labour MP, who\u00a0accused the police of Stasi-like behaviour<\/a>\u00a0over Pearson in the Commons, said: \u201cI am pleased to see that the exposure to discussion in the Commons seems to have helped persuade the police to withdraw their action.\u201d<\/p> Writing in The Telegraph he added: \u201cThe police have enthusiastically embraced the recording of non-crime hate incidents. Non-crime incidents have never been required by parliament in legislation and it is certainly not a crime to make somebody feel uncomfortable. In this category, the police have interviewed people for tweeting feminist songs and not allowing a guide dog into a shop. If only Orwell was alive today.\u201d<\/p> Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, said the decision was an \u201cembarrassment\u201d for the police and demonstrated why the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) needed to be scrapped.<\/p> \u201cWhat 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,\u201d she told The Telegraph.<\/p> Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: \u201cIt 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.<\/p> \u201cI urge the Government to urgently change the guidelines on NCHIs to stop it happening again.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div> An Essex Police spokesman said: \u201cWe investigate crimes reported to us without fear or favour.<\/p> \u201cWe\u2019re sometimes faced with allegations of crime where people have strong opposing views. That\u2019s why we work so hard to remain impartial and to investigate allegations, regardless of where they might lead.\u201d<\/p> Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader, said: \u201cHallelujah!! Common sense at last.<\/p> \u201cHowever 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.<\/p> \u201cGet back on the streets where shoplifting is rife and gang violence ever present.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div> 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.<\/p> 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.<\/p> 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 \u201clikely or intended to cause racial hatred\u201d.<\/p> Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union that provided legal support for Pearson, said Essex Police should now return to \u201cpolicing our streets, not our tweets\u201d.<\/p> He said: \u201cEssex Police should never have investigated this tweet in the first place. It didn\u2019t come close to being a criminal offence, which they\u2019ve now effectively acknowledged.<\/p> \u201cI 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\u2019s not their job to investigate newspaper columnists for wrongthink.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div> ALLISON PEARSON<\/p> He added: \u201cHaving 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\u2019s approach.<\/p> \u201cIt 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.<\/p> \u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Note: But the fear lingers on. That is how police states operate RH\u00a0 https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2024\/11\/21\/allison-pearson-police-tweet-no-action\/ \u00a0 Police drop investigation into Allison Pearson over tweet Force ditches inquiry after facing criticism for \u2018appalling\u2019 attack on free speech Allison Pearson will face no … Continue reading ![\"Allison](\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/meips\/ADKq_NaT1VPEbIrkPQbxWAloGDDukRWzgbF92QeK5Q8ehG3d_uUBs2_5alS21Uf9sg3oA_fd6PdldZi8Hnqo0UReFMTZ5x5e3whRyI91mtS7mA2IvpqNI9qrO8Lm0KFbRy5hgDCy5-PUCEHk1P0Fs5257ipysAFlEuu7cN-J3fDe4x5S_b--gU0E9fv0Fq-V-GM5nIIGZYdA5JfrKilF1vJ0l_tHb9OIICD-zmyWflF8r3b8JxVYi8xOLvAkBozNDoWYMAbx_GX8=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2024\/11\/22\/TELEMMGLPICT000402639395_17322351895050_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqek9vKm18v_rkIPH9w2GMNkikPYR0xYwuEBLwP9UFqPg.jpeg?imwidth=350\")
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