Freedom of speech campaigner Frank Furedi has called the police investigation into Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson over a social media post a “disturbing development”.
Speaking on GB News, Furedi criticised what he described as police “making up rules as they go along” after officers visited Pearson’s home on Remembrance Sunday regarding a year-old social media post.
The investigation has sparked outrage among free speech advocates and public figures, including X owner Elon Musk.
Officers visited Pearson’s home at 9:40am on Remembrance Sunday to inform her she was being investigated over a post made on X, formerly Twitter, from a year ago.
The 64-year-old columnist said she was “accused of a non-crime hate incident” related to “stirring up racial hatred”.
Pearson described the situation as “surreal”, noting that officers would not disclose the contents of the allegedly offending post.
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A year prior to the visit, she had frequently commented on the October 7 massacre in Israel and subsequent pro-Palestinian marches in London.
Furedi told GB News: “The police is essentially making up rules as they go along and they’re using medieval types of accusitory justice where we’re not told who’s initiated a claim against an individual.”
Frank Furedi joined Tom Harwood and Miriam Cates
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He warned that police “already assume someone has been violated” without proper judicial process.
“The definition of hate and hate crime is expanding all the time, to a point where you’re not allowed to say something slightly disagreeable,” Furedi added.
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Free speech campaigner Brendan O’Neill also condemned the investigation as “Stalinist”, telling GB News it was “despairing and terrifying”.
“The fact that we have police officers knocking on a journalist’s door in Britain in 2024 should send a chill down the collective spine,” O’Neill said.
A police investigation has been launched into a post Allison Pearson made over a year agoGetty
Conservative MP Chris Philp called on officers to stop attempts to “police thought”.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith called the incident “outrageous”, adding: “What we are seeing is the police force turning into the thought police.”
Essex Police confirmed they are investigating a report passed to them by another force regarding a social media post that was subsequently removed.
“An investigation is now being carried out under section 17 of the Public Order Act,” a police spokesman said.
The spokesman added that officers attended an address on Sunday November 10 “to invite a woman to attend a voluntary interview on the matter.”
The police have indicated that the alleged post is being investigated as a criminal matter.