Copyright newsletter
The Met will cease investigating (but will continue recording) non-crime hate incidents, in a decision which comes after it emerged TV comedy writer Graham Linehan will face no further action over social media posts about transgenderism. The 57-year-old was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September on suspicion of inciting violence over three posts he had made on X. The arrest sparked controversy, with Conservative politicians and Harry Potter author JK Rowling among those who voiced their outrage. While the initial arrest was made by officers who the Met said had reasonable grounds to believe an offence had been committed under the Public Order Act, the investigation later became one into a non-crime hate incident. Non-crime hate incidents are incidents that do not count as crimes but are perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards certain characteristics such as race or gender. On Monday, a spokesperson for the Met said the commissioner had been “clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position”. The force said the decision to no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents would now “provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations”. But The Met has said it will still record non-crime hate incidents to use as “valuable pieces of intelligence to establish potential patterns of behaviour or criminality”. The PSNI was asked by the News Letter if it still records and investigates such incidents, and whether it will follow The Met’s example. It responded with a statement from its “hate crime lead” Chief Superintendent Sue Steen, in which she said: “Every person in Northern Ireland deserves to live without fear or intimidation. "The PSNI is committed to investigating all hate crimes and working with our partners to increase reporting and support victims. “I want to encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences hate-motivated abuse, harassment or criminal damage, to please report it to police via 101 (or 999 in an emergency) or online via the PSNI website.” “At this time there is no plan to change the current recording procedures followed by the PSNI where both crimes and incidents are recorded.” The National Police Chief’s Council and College of Police are currently carrying out a review of non-crime hate incidents, which is due to report in December. Following the arrest in September of Linehan – whose writing credits include Father Ted, Black Books, The Day Today, Brass Eye, and The IT Crowd – Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said officers were in “an impossible position” when dealing with statements made online.
