Chinny rub of the Week

Apparently Essex Police turned up at the door of Allison Pearson on Remembrance Sunday to say someone had reported her for posting something racist the previous Remembrance Sunday.  They told Allison the exact date of the post but wouldn't tell her the words she used.  Allison didn't think to put in a Subject Access Request or check her own timeline but fortunately the Guardian have done it for her.

Update... The following press releases were put out by Essex Police...

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.

As this was a call to set up an interview, no extra details were given. That’s because we have to follow the law and make sure that everyone’s rights and entitlements, in particular to seek legal advice, were respected.

This is the right way to do things – it’s the correct procedure as set out by the Police And Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE).

Fuller details of an alleged offence are always provided prior to the commencement of a voluntary interview, under caution. That allows those present to seek appropriate legal advice and representation if they wish to.

As part of our investigation, we’re liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service regarding an alleged offence which was reported to us by a member of the public. This is an investigative stage review – nothing more.

Essex Police cuts crime. There were over 9,000 fewer reported offences in the last year and 20,000 fewer than five years ago.

Our officers and staff, some of which are military veterans, work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the public safe and investigate crime.

We police without fear or favour and when a crime is reported, we investigate.

That’s what we do and that’s what the people of Essex expect.

There has been a large amount of false reporting about an ongoing investigation and the force has registered complaints with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

FURTHER UPDATE: 10.30am, Saturday 16 November:

Essex Police complained to Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) on a matter of factual accuracy.

The force has been asked to provide further factual information.

This morning, the following verbatim lines were passed to IPSO.

These lines are as spoken by an officer who attended an address in Essex on Sunday 10 November and were clearly captured on Body Worn Video.

Officer: "It’s gone down as an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online. That would be the offence."

Officer: "Because of what’s been alleged and the evidence that we’ve got, I need to just ask you some questions."

Officer: "It’s what’s been alleged and if there’s an offence we need to ask questions about then we need to do that."

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.

Further note: (The verbatim statements above have been provided in this format as opposed to the Body Worn Video footage as it would be wrong to give any information in relation to any addresses visited).