Police should not be acting as 'thought police', say senior Tories

Police forces should not be acting as 'thought' police and must focus on investigating 'genuine' crimes, senior Tories said today.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, warned that officers 'should not be wasting time and resources' by 'policing thought'.

They should instead be 'concentrating on criminality' the Croydon South MP added, as he waded into a row over police visiting a journalist's home over a year-old tweet.

Allison Pearson said officers visited her last Sunday and told her she is being probed for alleged incitement of racial hatred over a post that has since been deleted.

The Telegraph columnist said she initially thought she heard the policemen at her door say they were investigating a 'non-crime hate incident'.

But Essex Police dispute this and said the officers were clear the alleged offence was inciting racial hatred, following a complaint by a member of the public.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the incident involving Ms Pearson 'looks to me like a complete absurdity'. 

Referencing his efforts to get police to crackdown on shoplifting in his Chingford and Woodford Green constituency, Sir Iain told LBC: 'That's where we want the police.

'What I don't want the police to do is to go and investigate something that happened a year or so ago that was a comment from a journalist.

'This is kind of thought police territory and whatever else happens, that's got to stop. 

'Let's get the police to do the one thing that every member of the public wants them to do - get after anti-social behaviour and violence and threats.'

Kemi Badenoch, the current Tory leader, has called for a review of non-crime hate incidents in the wake of the row involving Ms Pearson.  

Mr Philp served as policing minister during the final two years of the previous Conservative government and defended his record over the issue.

'It did concern me,' he told Sky News. 'And I did do something because the police should not be acting as the thought police.

'Particularly in relation to journalists, but actually more widely as well. Free speech is very important.

'We have a criminal threshold and the police should only get involved where that criminal threshold is met.

'If they're looking at non-criminal incidents, that should be extremely rare and it should only happen where there is a real risk of imminent criminality, that's a very high threshold.

'So I was concerned and I did take action together with the then home secretary, which was to restrict the circumstances in which the police could record people's personal details for these so-called non crime hate incidents and I had intended to go further but for the election.'

Mr Philp slammed recent reports that Yvette Cooper, Labour's Home Secretary, will reverse the changes made by the Tories over non-crime hate incidents.

It was reported earlier this year how Ms Cooper will undo the Conservatives' decision to downgrade the monitoring of non-crime hate incidents - specifically in relation to anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate - so they can be logged by police. 

The Home Secretary has previously warned of a 'disturbing rise' in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the wake of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on 7 October. 

Changes to the recording of non-crime hate incidents were introduced last year by former home secretary Suella Braverman to free up police time.

She oversaw the issuing of new guidance to ensure officers prioritise freedom of expression and stop recording incidents simply because someone is offended.

Mr Philp added: 'Of course things like anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred are recorded by all kinds of organisations.

'The police should only be recording this kind of information which falls below the criminal threshold, if there is a real and imminent risk of criminality following.

'Because for a start, if someone gets a deep - a full criminal record check done, that will get disclosed.

'And there are some cases has been reported this week by The Times, for example, where nine year old children were getting their details recorded as non-crime hate incidents for things happening in playgrounds.

'A Telegraph journalist, a different Telegraph journalist said they were investigated for making comments on the trans debate.

'Now, that is - that is wrong. People should have the right to free speech and the police should not be policing thought.'

Mr Philp later told GB News: 'It is ridiculous that public figures, journalists, but actually members of the public as well are getting police attention for essentially expressing opinions.

'The police should concentrate on crime, genuine crime, not on policing thought.

'If they are going to pay attention to anything that doesn't meet the criminal threshold, that should be an extremely high bar.

'It should be behaviour which is very likely to lead to imminent criminality, but they should not be policing thought.'

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Essex Police said: 'Officers attended an address in Essex and invited a woman to come to a voluntary interview.

'They said it related to an investigation into an alleged offence of inciting racial hatred, linked to a post on social media.

'We police without fear or favour and that's why we respond to alleged offences which are reported to us by members of the public.

'For clarity: a complaint of a possible criminal offence was made to the police and this is why we called; to arrange an interview.

'Everyone was polite and professional throughout the brief conversation.'

In an update published yesterday, the force added: 'Essex Police supports free speech.

'It does not support inaccuracy. If an alleged crime is reported it is investigated. There is no public interest in falsehood.'