Essex Police have confirmed they are investigating alleged criminal racial hatred after columnist Allison Pearson said she was “dumbfounded and upset” when she was questioned by police last week.
Ms Pearson said she was being investigated over a year-old deleted post online, claiming the investigation was related to a Non-Crime Hate Incident (NCHI). This refers to an act which is prejudiced towards a person with a particular characteristic, but is not illegal.
Her claims have gained widespread attention and attracted significant criticism towards Essex Police, including from leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch, who said the police should stop “wasting police time on trivial incidents”.
Ms Pearson claimed on X on Saturday morning that Essex Police had “upgraded the accusation from Non-Crime Hate Incident to offence under the Public Order Act”.
But Essex Police have confirmed to The Independent that the investigation was into an alleged criminal offence from the moment it began, not an NCHI. The force has now complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) on a matter of factual accuracy.
It also released the transcript of bodyworn video footage which was recorded during the conversation, in a bid to counter what they described as “false reporting” over the past week.
The transcript shows an officer saying that the tweet has “gone down as an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online”.
The officer adds: "Because of what’s been alleged and the evidence that we’ve got, I need to just ask you some questions."
Essex Police said it “supports free speech”, adding that it does “not support inaccuracy” in a thinly-veiled dig towards those who claimed the investigation was an NCHI.
“If an alleged crime is reported it is investigated. There is no public interest in falsehood,” the force added.
The post concerned has been reported to be a repost made by Ms Pearson while tensions over the policing of Gaza protests were high.
It included a picture of a group of people of colour holding a flag which said “Pakistan” standing with members of Greater Manchester Police, The Guardian reported. The flag held in the photo is used by proponents of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a Pakistani political party.
Ms Pearson allegedly wrote a post targeting the Metropolitan Police, which read according to The Guardian: “How dare they. 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 columnist deleted the post which is being investigated “after the mistake was pointed out”, The Telegraph - which Ms Pearson works for - reported.
