Sunak stated that the police’s responsibility is to fight “actual crime in people’s neighborhoods, and not policing bad jokes on Twitter.” The police reforms follow those of Greater Manchester Police Stephen Watson, who mandated officers to be physically present on patrol more frequently, a more traditional approach to police work in “preventing and solving crime” rather than policing speech.
From Reclaim the Net:
In recent times, UK citizens have been arrested for social media posts. Most notably, in August, police officers in Hampshire arrested army veteran Darren Brady for sharing a post. The post was originally posted by Laurence Fox, who said the post, an image of an LGBT flag transforming into a Swastika, was commentary on authoritarianism within the LGBT movement. The officers told Brady that he either attend an education course or go to jail. He called Fox who came and recorded the incident. “I don’t understand. I posted something that he posted,” Brady told police. “You come to arrest me. You don’t arrest him. Why has it come to this? Why am I in cuffs over something he shared, then I shared?” “Because someone has been caused obviously anxiety based on your social media posts,” the officer responded. “That’s why you’ve been arrested.”
