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Twitter spats could be investigated as criminal offences if non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) are scrapped, campaigners have warned. Scotland Yard became the first force in Britain to announce it would no longer investigate controversial NCHIs, with others expected to follow when a long-awaited national review is published. Free speech campaigners have given the announcement a lukewarm response, pointing out that while the Met will no longer investigate NCHIs, it will continue to collect the data. Others have also expressed concern that if NCHIs are scrapped, police forces may instead treat minor social media disputes as crimes, making the situation even worse. The Met’s announcement came after Graham Linehan, the Father Ted creator, who was arrested at Heathrow by five armed officers over a series of social media posts, was informed he would face no further action. Following the announcement, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The Met will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents. We believe this will provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations. “These incidents will still be recorded and used as valuable pieces of intelligence to establish potential patterns of behaviour or criminality. “We will continue to investigate and arrest those who commit hate crimes – allowing us to comply with statutory guidance while focusing our resources on criminality and public protection.” Responding to the statement, Mr Linehan said: “A lot of people are congratulating me for the result, but I think the police are engaging in shenanigans.” Lord Young of Acton, general secretary of the Free Speech Union said: “Sir Mark Rowley’s next move, I hope, will be to announce that NCHIs recorded by the Met will no longer be disclosable in enhanced DBS checks. I described this to The Free Speech Union’s staff as El-Alamein, but not D-Day. We’ve still got quite a few battles to fight”. The Women’s Rights Network posted on X: “The Met Police have announced that they will no longer investigate NCHIs. But they weren’t anyway, they were investigating crimes and they will of course continue to do that. “Quietly buried in the Met statement is the fact that they will continue to record NCHIs. Too often, women have been the target of malicious and vexatious reports just for understanding reality and defending their rights. “What has actually changed? Absolutely nothing. Nice try, Sir Mark Rowley. But, no cigar. Yet.” Met accused of dishonesty Harry Miller, the free speech campaigner, who set up the organisation Fair Cop to remove politics from policing, said: “The Met are still going to be recording NCHIs, so there are still going to be consequences for the person, and there are still questions that need answering. “Will the NCHI still appear on an enhanced DBS check? Will the subject still find themselves turning up on police intelligence reports? Will forces let people know that they have had something recorded against their name? “NCHIs need scrapping altogether and the police need to get back to gathering old-fashioned intelligence and evidence about crimes that are going to take place. “My concern is what are they going to replace them with. Are they going to snuffle around until they find a pretext for a crime to justify an investigation where no crime exists? I worry this is a smokescreen to allow them to do something far more sinister.” Sarah Phillimore, barrister and campaigner, accused the Met of dishonesty over the announcement, warning that minor matters could now end up being treated as crimes. She said: “We are now in the worst of all possible worlds. Faced with applying boundaries to NCHIs, the police are now simply recording crimes instead - and not informing the person recorded.” “The Met is, in my view, being dishonest in pretending that they are doing something special by ‘not investigating’ NCHIs. This is an entirely usual state of affairs. They arrested Graham Linehan for a crime.” The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing are currently carrying out a review into NCHIs and are expected to publish the results soon. ‘The police should focus on tackling real crime’ Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, NPCC chairman, said the current system was not working as it should. He said: “Police officers are operating in an increasingly polarised world with regulations that expect them to referee societal debate rather than focus on real-world threat and risk. “We continue to work hard with the College of Policing to progress our review into non-crime hate incidents and will share its findings when complete. “It is vital that we continue to record and gather intelligence around hate and monitor community tensions, as we remain vigilant to precursors to violence and other more serious crimes.” A Downing Street spokesman claimed police forces will “get the clarity they need to keep our streets safe” when the review findings are published. He said: “The police should focus on tackling real crime and policing the streets. The Home Secretary has asked that this review be completed at pace, working with the National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing. “We look forward to receiving its findings as soon as possible, so that the other forces get the clarity they need to keep our streets safe.”
