A small step in the right direction for free speech.
CINDY HARPER
Britain’s largest police force has announced it will stop investigating non-crime hate incidents, saying officers should no longer spend time investigating matters that fall short of a criminal offense.
The decision comes just as the Metropolitan Police confirmed it has abandoned its case against Father Ted creator Graham Linehan, who had been arrested at Heathrow Airport last month.
A police spokesperson said the force “understands the concern” surrounding the case.
“The Commissioner has 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 spokesperson said.
The new approach, they added, will “provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations.”
Non-crime hate incidents, Orwellian in name, are situations reported to police that are thought to involve hostility or prejudice toward people based on attributes such as race, religion, or gender identity.
They are recorded under Home Office guidance to monitor potential hate-related behavior that might “escalate into more serious harm,” but these incidents do not constitute criminal acts.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that while it will stop investigating non-crime hate incidents, officers will still record them for intelligence purposes.
The shift marks a major change in policy but not a complete abandonment of data collection.
A spokesperson clarified the distinction, saying, “These incidents will still be recorded and used as valuable pieces of intelligence to establish potential patterns of behaviour or criminality.”
In a statement following the Met’s decision, the the Free Speech Union wrote, “Great news that the @metpoliceuk will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents — a direct result of our successful campaign to get the Met to drop its investigation of @glinner, which it has now done.”
The group warned, however, that the broader issue remains unresolved, saying, “This is a tremendous victory, but the war is not yet over. We now have to make sure all the other police forces in the UK follow in the Met’s footsteps and they all now stop recording NCHIs, including the Met, in a way that means they can show up in enhanced DBS checks and prevent you from getting a job as a teacher or a carer. No one should be prevented from getting a job because they’ve committed a ‘non-crime’.”
This article (UK Met Police Will Stop Investigating (But Will Still Record) “None-Crime Hate Incidents”) was created and published by Reclaim the Net and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Cindy Harper
See Related Article Below
Graham Linehan “Will Face no Further Action” Over Trans Tweets That Saw Him Arrested by Armed Police at Heathrow Airport
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan says he faces no further police action over trans tweets that saw him arrested by armed officers at Heathrow airport – but pledges to hold the police “accountable” for trying to silence him. The Mail has more.
The Irish comedy writer, 57, was met by armed police when he touched down at Heathrow Airport last month from Arizona in the US and detained on suspicion of inciting violence.
He has now posted on X, formerly Twitter: “The police have informed my lawyers that I face no further action in respect of the arrest at Heathrow in September.
“After a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn’t even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case.
“With the aid of the Free Speech Union, I still aim to hold the police accountable for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “Following careful review of a file submitted by the Metropolitan Police, we have decided that no further action should be taken in relation to a man in his 50s who was arrested on September 1st 2025.”
Mr Linehan, currently living across the Atlantic, later declared he would no longer want to return to Britain after his arrest that was met with fury from high-profile figures such as Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling who came to his support by branding the detention “utterly deplorable”.
Linehan, who also co-wrote and directed sitcoms such as Black Books, The IT Crowd and Count Arthur Strong, was detained in relation to three tweets which police deemed to warrant an arrest on suspicion of inciting violence.
The first, from April 20th, read: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
A second tweet, on April 19th, was a picture of a trans rally with the caption: “A photo you can smell.” The third was a follow-up to this tweet which said: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em.”
The writer was heard audibly fuming in disbelief when he was stopped by armed officers at the west London airport.
He told them: “I’m a f****** comedy writer, I wrote Father Ted. Are you a f****** idiot?… It’s just disgraceful.”
When told he was under arrest, Linehan shouted: “Holy s***, I don’t f****** believe it, do you know what this country looks like to America?” before telling them “I’m going to sue you into the ground”.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: The Metropolitan Police – Britain’s biggest police force – has announced it will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents in a significant victory for free speech.
The FSU tweeted:
Great news that the @metpoliceuk will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents – a direct result of our successful campaign to get the Met to drop its investigation of @glinner, which it has now done.
This is a tremendous victory, but the war is not yet over. We now have to make sure all the other police forces in the UK follow in the Met’s footsteps and they all now stop recording NCHIs, including the Met, in a way that means they can show up in enhanced DBS checks and prevent you from getting a job as a teacher or a carer. No one should be prevented from getting a job because they’ve committed a ‘non-crime’.
Nevertheless, this is an important step on the road to scrapping NCHIs altogether, something our Director, Lord Young of Acton, called for in the House of Lords last Thursday. He has proposed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, co-sponsored by Lord Hogan-Howe, a former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to abolish NCHIs.
Great news that the @metpoliceuk will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents — a direct result of our successful campaign to get the Met to drop its investigation of @glinner, which it has now done.
This is a tremendous victory, but the war is not yet over. We now have… https://t.co/YXy9BXwXFz
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) October 20, 2025
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