Friday’s news that the Metropolitan Police are investigating Darren Grimes over a possible breach of hate speech laws publishing his interview with David Starkey was so absurd that even Priti Patel publicly pushed the boundaries of her role to say “it’s important the law protects freedom of speech.” Labour, it appears, have taken a slightly different view.
In response to the news, Karl Turner – Sir Keir’s pick for Shadow Justice Minister – posted the now-deleted Tweet:
Perhaps Mr. Turner should watch out for a knock on the door from the police himself – Ricky Gervais replied saying Karl’s beliefs offended him…
Far from backing down from the authoritarian take, Sir Keir doubled down on LBC this morning, telling Nick Ferrari:
“I think it does sometimes have to involve the police… There has got to be a level of tolerance of course, but there is a line which can be crossed, and it’s very important that it is investigated, and in some cases prosecutions.”“When people go over the line it’s right that it’s investigated.”
Readers shouldn’t be surprised that this is the line Starmer’s chosen. As Director of Public Prosecutions, the CPS dragged a man called Paul Chambers through the courts on the basis of a Twitter joke, costing him his job and years of legal battles. According to The Observer’s Nick Cohen, Starmer personally insisted on the case proceeding. After seven months, Labour finally has taken a stand: a strong line against freedom of speech…
