Police Commissioner defends his investigation into Telegraph journalist

Описание: Essex Police have come out swinging after a week of criticism in the Telegraph newspaper. They've been broadly accused of both 'over-policing' and 'criminalising free speech.'

It comes after columnist Allison Pearson alleged that she'd had a knock on her door over a 'non-crime hate incident,' as a result of something she posted on Twitter. This led to widespread support from certain quarters, with Elon Musk and Boris Johnson leaping to her defence.

But Essex Police have a different story. They insist they did not mention the phrase 'non-crime hate incident' when speaking to Ms Pearson, and have the bodycam footage to back it up. Instead, they say, they were arranging an interview regarding an alleged 'incitement of racial hatred'.

Essex Police went on to say that the suggestion Ms Pearson was being investigated for a non-crime hate incident is "wholly inaccurate and misleading."

Despite all this, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has leapt to her defence, describing the situation as 'thought police territory.'

Well Lewis Goodall went direct to the source, and spoke to Roger Hirst, the police and crime commissioner for Essex Police.

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