Police visit to journalist's home starts heated debate about press control in UK

Last week-end police officers showed up at Allison Pearsons home to check about her year-old deleted social-media post (which they didnt even show her)

Three different police departments are looking into Pearsonʼs case; its making other writers nervous about their own posts. Fellow journalist Rachel Johnson shared her brothers article supporting Pearson and wrote:

Hear hear - and so say all of us standing with Allison Pearson. They messed with the wrong Welshwoman this time but any one of us could be next

Daily Mail writer Sarah Vine pointed-out that female journalists already deal with lots of online hate: she thinks its scary that police arent helping them anymore

The whole thing started a big talk about Non-Crime Hate Incidents — which police write down but arenʼt actually against any laws. Essex Police say theyʼre checking if Pearson broke section 17 of the Public Order Act from last november

Some important people dont like how this works:

• Donna Jones‚ ex-police commissioner thinks officers shouldnt visit homes for non-crimes
• Business minister Kemi Badenoch called it a waste of police time
• Top lawyer Geoffrey Robertson says Essexʼs investigation isnt worth tax-payers money

Downing Street said on thu theyʼre looking at how police handle these non-crime cases — while shadow home secretary and former home secretary both say theyʼre worried about it