Police drop investigation into journalist Allison Pearson over tweet - as review to be launched over handling of case
21 November 2024, 18:42 | Updated: 21 November 2024, 18:57
No further action will be taken against journalist Allison Pearson over a social media post she made last year.
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Essex Police visited Pearson’s home amid an investigation into alleged incitement to racial hatred.
However, following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service the force will seek no further action against the Telegraph columnist.
A spokesperson from Essex Police said: "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."
Iain Duncan Smith on Kemi Badenoch's comments on the investigation into journalist Allison Pearson
The force added that the National Police Chiefs' Council hate crime lead has agreed to conduct an independent review into the force's handling of the matter.
The visit by Essex Police sparked a social media storm, with some online claiming the force was attempting to curb free speech.
the shadow home secretary called on the Government to change the guidelines on non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) in the wake of the case against Ms Pearson being dropped.
Chris Philp said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "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 Govt to urgently change the guidelines on NCHIs to stop it happening again."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he was "delighted" the case has been dropped, adding that his party would "repeal" hate speech laws.
Speaking on Sunday, the Essex Police Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst rejected claims his force was acting like the “thought police.”
Mr Hirst told LBC: "Well, certainly we don't want thought police in this country. This is absolutely about having a free country, isn't it, really?
“And there's a tension here between freedom of speech and rule of law. Both of those are absolutely core pillars of our democracy.
“I just think it's perhaps worth bearing in mind though, in my police and crime plan, we don't talk about hate crime, we talk about antisocial behaviour, we talk about drug-driven crime, we talk about violence against women and girls, we talk about neighbourhood crimes.
“But nevertheless we can't go around ignoring crimes just because it's politically sensitive. And we perhaps need to just think about how our black and Asian communities are hearing this debate.
