“Make Orwell Fiction Again!” declared Elon Musk when he heard about Essex Police’s disgraceful doorstepping and investigation of award-winning journalist Allison Pearson over a year-old deleted tweet. The Telegraph has the story.
Essex Police is facing a backlash from critics, including Boris Johnson, over its investigation into Allison Pearson for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a social media post last year.
The force has refused to give the award-winning writer details about which post on X, formerly Twitter, is being investigated, or who made the complaint against her.
Two police officers called at Pearson’s home at 9.40am on Remembrance Sunday to tell her she was being investigated and invite her to a voluntary interview. She was told, however, that the officers were not allowed to disclose the specific focus of an inquiry.
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary and former Policing Minister, said: “It is completely wrong that the journalist was not even told about the particulars of the allegation when she was doorstepped by the police, intruding into her Sunday morning without warning. I am deeply concerned this will have a chilling effect on free speech and free expression.”
In a post on X, Mr Johnson, the former prime minister, called the behaviour of the police “appalling”.
This is appalling. How can Starmer’s Britain lecture other countries about free speech when an innocent journalist gets a knock on the door – for a tweet? Our police have their hands full of burglaries and violent crime. They are being forced to behave like a woke Securitate -… https://t.co/HaXc1tsokW
“How can Starmer’s Britain lecture other countries about free speech when an innocent journalist gets a knock on the door – for a tweet?” he wrote. “Our police have their hands full of burglaries and violent crime. They are being forced to behave like a woke Securitate – and it has to stop.” …
In a statement on Tuesday night, Essex Police said officers had opened the investigation under section 17 of the Public Order Act 1986, relating to material allegedly “likely or intended to cause racial hatred”.
The force said the alleged offence was being treated as a criminal matter and not a non-crime hate incident, as Pearson recalled being told on Sunday.
On Wednesday, the force issued a second statement, accusing the Telegraph of presenting “wholly inaccurate information” as fact.
The complaint was passed to Essex Police by another force. It is understood to have been assessed twice by different officers before Essex decided to seek a voluntary interview with Pearson.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: “As a police force, we investigate matters which are reported to us without fear or favour, no matter who makes a report or to whom the incident concerns.”
Nigel Farage, the Reform U.K. leader, said: “This is Orwellian in the extreme. I’m absolutely appalled that Allison and others like her have to live in fear for months without ever being told what has been said against them. People must be worried sick. We are very much in the territory of a thought crime here, where the accusers are called ‘victims’.”
Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister, claimed the incident was “yet another affront to free speech”, adding: “We must speak out and fight back against this appalling bullying of Allison Pearson.”
Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “The police should be focusing on tackling the crime wave on our streets, not digging up years-old tweets.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, said: “What we are seeing is the police force turning into the thought police. The police have far more important things to do than following up on someone’s concerns about what someone wrote a year ago.
“This is definitely George Orwell’s 1984, very Big Brother-ish. I feel sorry for the police, who seem to be so badly led that officers are forced into this nonsense. What the public wants is for them to crack down on shoplifting, violent threats and anti-social behaviour.
“If you want to know what hate is, that is hate. They should deal with that rather than targeting journalists whose job is to speak freely.”
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So then if the police doesn’t tell her which tweet they found objectionable, what is she supposed to do about it?
Doesn’t anybody accused have a right to know what he or she is accused of?
So how does it go then?
The police turn on at your house.
They tell you someone made a complaint about you but they can’t tell you what it is.
Then what?
If they have no reasonable grounds to suspect that you committed s crime, what right do they have to trouble you?
That’s not uncommon for the British police to do. I once got pulled out of a pub by the police to record my personal details and told this was done because I was considered a suspect in some crime. I asked what that crime was but they wouldn’t tell me. Some months later, I got called by the police and asked to come to the police station for an interview because I was considered a suspect in some crime. When I again asked what that crime was, they again wouldn’t tell me, for my own protection, as I was told. Yet some time later, I got another call and they told that they didn’t consider me a suspect anymore and hence, I wouldn’t need to come for the interview.
I have still absolutely no idea what this was about.
I also think it is very difficult to defend yourself if you don’t know what it is all about. Can you just not refuse to come to the police station until you know what it is all about?
This is all too ridiculous.
If they arrest you on suspicion, they must say what the suspicion is, in this case probably stirring up racial haterid (which I doubt she did). You do not need to do anything until you are arrested, and at that point a competent lawyer will want full details of everything. You need say nothing. The police will probably refuse to say anything to the Lawyer, which leaves an impasse that the Police hate. Then they have to charge or release you. An NCHI should not be recorded anyway, it is NOT a crime and should never be disclosed. At that point, if disclosed, sue the Police! Not a Crime. They can never prove stirring up racial haterid, who is the witness, someone admitting they hate you? It is simply an allegation of opinion.
Jeff Chambers
4 months ago
The attack on free-speech (and its replacement by government-approved speech) which we can see all around us isn’t an accident, a slip-up, an oversight, or a mistake. It is our government’s fundamental policy, and is designed to facilitate our degenerate Establishment’s central project: the Great Replacement. Indeed, without the destruction of free-speech this project cannot succeed. This is why our response has to be to insist on free-speech in all circumstances.
To the bandwagon-jumping ex-government. You were (supposedly) in charge from 2010 until 2024. This all happened on your watch.
Did you know about this yet choose to do nothing, perhaps through cowardice? Were you blissfully unaware and therefore utterly clueless? Are you suddenly seeing things clearly because you lost power?
Shall we take your wails as sincere or simply as attempts to become electable once more?
Totally agree.
All of a sudden Liz Truss, Ian Duncan Smith, Robert Jenrick go all apoplectic and huff and puff about this, when they had 14 years to abolish “non/hate crime incidents” and did nothing.
Boris Johnson’s a fine one to talk and presumes we all suffer amnesia. These incidents also happened under the Tories. This is from May this year;
”A police force was last night accused of ‘trampling’ over democracy after detectives allegedly put pressure on a local Tory party to unseat a colleague wrongly accused of a hate crime.
Anthony Stevens, a Conservative councillor in Northamptonshire, was arrested last year after posting an image from a video – first revealed by The Mail on Sunday – of a Christian preacher having his bible wrested off him by police in the street.
The father of two was held for nine hours, during which he was also quizzed about his online support of another politician who criticised gay pride events. Mr Stevens, 51, a member of Wellingborough Town Council, was released and later told that no further action would be taken against him.
But the MoS can now reveal that days before Mr Stevens was arrested, a Northamptonshire Police detective phoned Jonathan Ekins, a former local Tory mayor for Wellingborough, and allegedly told him Mr Stevens should be ‘removed’ as a councillor because of his views.”
There’s some debate on the interwebs whether the Police were making a call about an alleged non-crime hate incident or establishing the groundwork for the investigation of a real crime.
In any even the general advice seems to be to tell the police only what they are legally entitled to know and make sure you make no further comment without your solicitor being present and advising you.
Just out of curiosity, what are the police “legally entitled to know”?
Hester
4 months ago
The Police as I think we can all agree have been superb at their jobs, All burglaries and thefts are solved and the thieves imprisoned, likewise any woman raped, or assaulted can be assured that the attacker will be brought to justice, knife crime a thing of the past, likewise terrorists, Shoplifters all caught. Yes I think we can all agree the Police have done such a sterling job that they have so much free time on their hands they can now go after all of those who say hurty words that conflict with the big book of approved words, beliefs and sayings of our political masters and our betters.
I know that if my car .phone, property is stolen or vandalised the Police will have it sorted and solved by ——————————–errr
Agreed, Freedom Loving Boris, Starmer’s the sort of person who fine someone £50,000 for opening a gym or a hairdressers in March 2020.
Hold on a minute, in March 2020 we found out that it was only your own freedom you loved Boris.
Last edited 4 months ago by Lockdown Sceptic
Heretic
4 months ago
Whoever sent those police to intimidate her on Remembrance Sunday, of all days, for freedom of speech A YEAR AGO, showed their treasonous contempt for the Armed Forces of the West.
Pete Sutton
4 months ago
Never mind “Starmer’s Britain” – NCHIs were invented and enhanced under the tories, so button it, BoJo.
What really happened in Amsterdam… https://youtu.be/DvTyg1kJGzM?si=-PwR6ncKHSl9utD3
We must be extremely careful what we believe in media in this modern age of misinformation..
Question absolutely everything..
I wont bother saying it…….. Yes i will… I told you so..
Thank you for providing this link. It confirms what I read recently about the Amsterdam attack being started by Israeli youths, but I couldn’t find the article again.
DrDan
4 months ago
Allison was one of the few speaking truth through Covid. I suspect she is too effective and they are trying to shut her up
The Real Engineer
4 months ago
This is the most important thing to have happened for some time. Free speech is being eroded. She is “visited” without reason or charge, which is the same tactic as the Gestapo used in NAZI Germany. People are just taken away never to be seen again! I don’t think we have concentration camps yet (boncentration bamps in Pythoneese) but you never know. Join the FSU now!
Gezza England
4 months ago
Worth reading in full it says at the bottom. Actually, no it isn’t because the whole thing is a wonderful example of totally incompetent journalism from the legacy media.
The police visited Pearson – on a badly chosen day – to arrange a formal interview at a police station in relation to an alleged offence under Section 17 of the Public Order Act. So all this media hot air about non-crime hate incidents – which are a stupid idea of course – is totally wrong. The police are investigating a possible crime although one that many of us here would consider complete bollocks. And without knowing what was tweeted further comment is pointless.
As more information has been revealed – not noticed so far by the DS – this has become a glorious example of the utter incompetence of the police, in fact THREE police forces as well as the expected failure of the legacy media. The possible ‘offensive’ post has been found by the Guardian but the slight problem is that it was NOT posted from Allison Pearson’s account.
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Allison deleted the post on X, ergo there may be a prima facie case, else why was it deleted?
When was the tweet deleted and was it deleted in anticipation of the actions which plod later undertook?
Not committing a crime is not a “case”.
Since the police did not tell her which tweet it was, she cannot say she deleted it.
X do not delete posts, therefore Allison deleted the post, so why?
Please could someone enlighten me: what exactly did Allison say?
Impossible to say because the police did not say which tweet it was.
So then if the police doesn’t tell her which tweet they found objectionable, what is she supposed to do about it?
Doesn’t anybody accused have a right to know what he or she is accused of?
She may be told at interview (she is taking an FSU lawyer). However, as we know, the process is the punishment not the conclusion.
So how does it go then?
The police turn on at your house.
They tell you someone made a complaint about you but they can’t tell you what it is.
Then what?
If they have no reasonable grounds to suspect that you committed s crime, what right do they have to trouble you?
That’s not uncommon for the British police to do. I once got pulled out of a pub by the police to record my personal details and told this was done because I was considered a suspect in some crime. I asked what that crime was but they wouldn’t tell me. Some months later, I got called by the police and asked to come to the police station for an interview because I was considered a suspect in some crime. When I again asked what that crime was, they again wouldn’t tell me, for my own protection, as I was told. Yet some time later, I got another call and they told that they didn’t consider me a suspect anymore and hence, I wouldn’t need to come for the interview.
I have still absolutely no idea what this was about.
I also think it is very difficult to defend yourself if you don’t know what it is all about. Can you just not refuse to come to the police station until you know what it is all about?
This is all too ridiculous.
If they arrest you on suspicion, they must say what the suspicion is, in this case probably stirring up racial haterid (which I doubt she did). You do not need to do anything until you are arrested, and at that point a competent lawyer will want full details of everything. You need say nothing. The police will probably refuse to say anything to the Lawyer, which leaves an impasse that the Police hate. Then they have to charge or release you. An NCHI should not be recorded anyway, it is NOT a crime and should never be disclosed. At that point, if disclosed, sue the Police! Not a Crime. They can never prove stirring up racial haterid, who is the witness, someone admitting they hate you? It is simply an allegation of opinion.
The attack on free-speech (and its replacement by government-approved speech) which we can see all around us isn’t an accident, a slip-up, an oversight, or a mistake. It is our government’s fundamental policy, and is designed to facilitate our degenerate Establishment’s central project: the Great Replacement. Indeed, without the destruction of free-speech this project cannot succeed. This is why our response has to be to insist on free-speech in all circumstances.
To the bandwagon-jumping ex-government. You were (supposedly) in charge from 2010 until 2024. This all happened on your watch.
Did you know about this yet choose to do nothing, perhaps through cowardice? Were you blissfully unaware and therefore utterly clueless? Are you suddenly seeing things clearly because you lost power?
Shall we take your wails as sincere or simply as attempts to become electable once more?
Jog on. You’ll have to do much better than that.
Totally agree.
All of a sudden Liz Truss, Ian Duncan Smith, Robert Jenrick go all apoplectic and huff and puff about this, when they had 14 years to abolish “non/hate crime incidents” and did nothing.
Boris Johnson’s a fine one to talk and presumes we all suffer amnesia. These incidents also happened under the Tories. This is from May this year;
”A police force was last night accused of ‘trampling’ over democracy after detectives allegedly put pressure on a local Tory party to unseat a colleague wrongly accused of a hate crime.
Anthony Stevens, a Conservative councillor in Northamptonshire, was arrested last year after posting an image from a video – first revealed by The Mail on Sunday – of a Christian preacher having his bible wrested off him by police in the street.
The father of two was held for nine hours, during which he was also quizzed about his online support of another politician who criticised gay pride events. Mr Stevens, 51, a member of Wellingborough Town Council, was released and later told that no further action would be taken against him.
But the MoS can now reveal that days before Mr Stevens was arrested, a Northamptonshire Police detective phoned Jonathan Ekins, a former local Tory mayor for Wellingborough, and allegedly told him Mr Stevens should be ‘removed’ as a councillor because of his views.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13434031/Police-accused-trampling-democracy-detectives-pressure-local-Tory-party-unseat-councillor-arrested-wrongly-accused-hate-crime.html
Remember your rights, so says Black belt barrister. It seems to be happening to a lot of people;
”NOTE: Article 10 (Freedom of expression) is a protected right.
This must not be eroded by the establishment.”
https://x.com/dshensmith/status/1856603097910374651
There’s some debate on the interwebs whether the Police were making a call about an alleged non-crime hate incident or establishing the groundwork for the investigation of a real crime.
In any even the general advice seems to be to tell the police only what they are legally entitled to know and make sure you make no further comment without your solicitor being present and advising you.
Just out of curiosity, what are the police “legally entitled to know”?
The Police as I think we can all agree have been superb at their jobs, All burglaries and thefts are solved and the thieves imprisoned, likewise any woman raped, or assaulted can be assured that the attacker will be brought to justice, knife crime a thing of the past, likewise terrorists, Shoplifters all caught. Yes I think we can all agree the Police have done such a sterling job that they have so much free time on their hands they can now go after all of those who say hurty words that conflict with the big book of approved words, beliefs and sayings of our political masters and our betters.
I know that if my car .phone, property is stolen or vandalised the Police will have it sorted and solved by ——————————–errr
Agreed, Freedom Loving Boris, Starmer’s the sort of person who fine someone £50,000 for opening a gym or a hairdressers in March 2020.
Hold on a minute, in March 2020 we found out that it was only your own freedom you loved Boris.
Whoever sent those police to intimidate her on Remembrance Sunday, of all days, for freedom of speech A YEAR AGO, showed their treasonous contempt for the Armed Forces of the West.
Never mind “Starmer’s Britain” – NCHIs were invented and enhanced under the tories, so button it, BoJo.
What really happened in Amsterdam…
https://youtu.be/DvTyg1kJGzM?si=-PwR6ncKHSl9utD3
We must be extremely careful what we believe in media in this modern age of misinformation..
Question absolutely everything..
I wont bother saying it…….. Yes i will… I told you so..
Thank you for providing this link. It confirms what I read recently about the Amsterdam attack being started by Israeli youths, but I couldn’t find the article again.
Allison was one of the few speaking truth through Covid. I suspect she is too effective and they are trying to shut her up
This is the most important thing to have happened for some time. Free speech is being eroded. She is “visited” without reason or charge, which is the same tactic as the Gestapo used in NAZI Germany. People are just taken away never to be seen again! I don’t think we have concentration camps yet (boncentration bamps in Pythoneese) but you never know. Join the FSU now!
Worth reading in full it says at the bottom. Actually, no it isn’t because the whole thing is a wonderful example of totally incompetent journalism from the legacy media.
The police visited Pearson – on a badly chosen day – to arrange a formal interview at a police station in relation to an alleged offence under Section 17 of the Public Order Act. So all this media hot air about non-crime hate incidents – which are a stupid idea of course – is totally wrong. The police are investigating a possible crime although one that many of us here would consider complete bollocks. And without knowing what was tweeted further comment is pointless.
As more information has been revealed – not noticed so far by the DS – this has become a glorious example of the utter incompetence of the police, in fact THREE police forces as well as the expected failure of the legacy media. The possible ‘offensive’ post has been found by the Guardian but the slight problem is that it was NOT posted from Allison Pearson’s account.