The investigation involving comedy writer Graham Linehan has now been abandoned, as the London police decided to cease pursuing so-called “non-criminal hate incidents” (NCHI).
London’s Metropolitan Police have indicated that they will no longer allocate resources to investigate NCHI, a decision welcomed by the Free Speech Coalition, which regards it as a significant win that would allow police to focus on actual crimes.
However, police still intend to continue recording NCHI. The union emphasizes that the struggle isn’t over. This is crucial, as even without a criminal process or court acquittal opportunities, an NCHI record remains next to a person’s name in police databases and can surface during background checks by potential employers.
The Free Speech Coalition stated, “This is a huge victory, yet the battle is far from over.”
“We must ensure that all police forces across the UK adopt the same approach as the Metropolitan Police. It’s vital that all police forces, including the Metropolitan Police, remove NCHI records from enhanced DBS checks, so individuals aren’t barred from jobs due to a ‘non-crime’.”
The Metropolitan Police has declared that it should not engage in policing “toxic culture war controversies,” asserting that the new guidelines will clarify matters, allowing officers to concentrate on genuine criminal investigations.
It takes just one tweet for an NCHI to be logged against someone. The case that particularly highlighted the flaws in this system was the police’s handling of Irish comedian Graham Linehan, stemming from his gender-critical posts on social media.
Linehan, known for his work on *Father Ted* and *The IT Crowd*, attracted significant international attention, leading to criticism of the UK’s perceived erosion of free speech. He was initially detained at a London airport, facing bail conditions so restrictive that he couldn’t even make online posts.
These conditions were challenged by the Free Speech Coalition, and ultimately struck down by a judge who deemed the police’s bail terms “meaningless.”
Despite this, the investigation into Linehan is not entirely over; police have now declared that they will close all investigations concerning him and others. Linehan commented, “With the support of the Free Speech Coalition, I remain determined to hold police accountable for this attempt to stifle gender-critical voices.”
While Mr. Linehan’s case is arguably the most prominent among NCHI cases, Breitbart London has reported extensively on the rise of such incidents. The tally of NCHIs is climbing rapidly and is sometimes used as a reason for police officers to visit individuals and advise them on their social media activity, even without any crime being committed.
Journalists have also found themselves in the crosshairs, as evidenced by veteran journalist Alison Pearson receiving a visit at her home last Remembrance Sunday. To her surprise, the police did not disclose the reason for their visit, and when she inquired about the accuser, officers corrected her by labeling the individual as a “victim.”
