Beat the System UK

A Tory councillor has been arrested for “hate crimes”. His crime? Retweeting a video which criticised the police for their wrongful arrest of a Christian preacher. Cllr Anthony Stevens was arrested at his home and escorted to a police station for interrogation about tweets from his personal account (which has 76 followers). Examples of his “hateful” conduct included a tweet in support of a fellow Northamptonshire councillor, Cllr King Lawal, who was suspended by the local Conservative group for after he responded to images of Pride parades. Stevens did not agree with Cllr Lawal’s statements, but rather defended his right to free speech. Yet, the respected local councillor was told that he was under arrest for distributing written material to stir up racial hatred, and has been released on bail. Speaking about the incident, Cllr Stevens said: “It is appalling and bizarre to be brutally arrested for sharing a petition in defending the right to free speech of a fellow councillor. The accusation of racial hatred is ridiculous and insulting. My only crime has been supporting the only black local councillor in Northamptonshire. In a true democratic society, you cannot have people being arrested for a few tweets. We must have debate, we must have the freedom to criticise and offend each other, otherwise this country is going to swiftly go to pot. If elected members cannot share their beliefs or support each other in their right to share their beliefs without losing our jobs and being arrested, then we are in a very dark place.” The police won’t investigate rapists. But they will target those who dare to criticise them. The British justice system is a farce.