Free Speech Union Helping 71 Year-Old ‘Thought Criminal’ Arrested by Kent Police and Held in Cell For Eight Hours

A retired Special Constable who was arrested and held in a cell for eight hours for a social media post is to sue Kent Police with the help of the Free Speech Union.

The story of Julian Foulkes’ ordeal was published in today’s Telegraph:

Julian Foulkes, from Gillingham in Kent, was handcuffed at his home by six officers from Kent Police – the force he had served for a decade – after challenging a supporter of pro-Palestinian marches on X.

Police body-worn camera footage captured officers scrutinising the 71-year-old’s collection of books by authors such as Douglas Murray, a Telegraph contributor, and issues of The Spectator, pointing to what they described as “very Brexity things”.

They were also shown raising concerns about a shopping list containing bleach, tin foil and gloves drawn up by Mr Foulkes’s wife, a hairdresser.

“Free speech is clearly under attack,” said Mr Foulkes. “Nobody is really safe… the public needs to see what’s happening, and be shocked.”

His case is the latest in a string of heavy-handed police responses to lawful expression. Last year, the Telegraph revealed that its columnist Allison Pearson was questioned at home by two officers over an X post following pro-Palestinian protests.

Mr Foulkes’s house was searched, with officers seizing his electronic devices and removing them to a waiting police van. Officers also rifled through his most personal belongings. Fifteen years ago, his daughter Francesca was killed by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run while on holiday in Ibiza.

On the footage, one officer can be heard saying, “Ah. That’s sad,” as she examined newspaper clippings Mr Foulkes had kept about the police investigation and the funeral.

After his home was searched, the retired special constable was locked in a police cell for eight hours and interrogated on suspicion of malicious communications. Fearing that further escalation could impact his ability to visit his surviving daughter, who lives in Australia, he accepted a caution despite having committed no offence.

The incident took place in November 2023. This week, Kent Police admitted the caution was a mistake and deleted it from Mr Foulkes’s record.

In March, officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary arrested and detained the parents of a nine-year-old girl after they had complained about her school in a WhatsApp group, before concluding that no further action was required.

Ian Austin, a Labour MP, has also been investigated for calling Hamas “Islamist”, while Julie Bindel, the feminist writer, was visited by police after a transgender man reported her gender-critical tweets as an alleged “hate crime”.

On Saturday, a Kent Police spokesman told The Telegraph the force had “concluded that the caution against Mr Foulkes was not appropriate in the circumstances and should not have been issued”.

The spokesman said “Kent Police expunged the caution from the man’s record and was pleased to facilitate this correction”, adding that a further review of the matter would now be carried out “to identify any learning opportunities”.

Julian has since joined the Free Speech Union, which is now helping him. As it says on the crowdfunder it has set up to raise money to help with his legal expenses:

We don’t think Kent Police should be allowed to get away with such appalling behaviour. At one point, a police officer searching his home pointed to books by Douglas Murray and copies of the Spectator and described them as “very Brexity things”, as though that in itself was suspicious.

The emotional fallout has been devastating. Julian lost one of his daughters in a hit-and-run 15 years ago and his surviving daughter now lives in Australia. His greatest fear was that a criminal record might prevent him from visiting her — which is why, despite having done nothing wrong, he felt compelled to accept a caution. “My life wouldn’t be worth living if I couldn’t see her,” he said.

With the FSU’s help, Julian is going to sue the force for wrongful arrest, as well as unlawful interference in his right to liberty. After the ordeal he was put through, he deserves to be given a substantial sum in compensation. Please donate to his crowdfunder so he can get the justice he deserves.

Stop Press: The Mail has written about the case, which includes the following quote from me:

The police have allowed themselves to become the paramilitary wing of the BBC.

If you’re a progressive liberal activist, particularly if you work in the public sector, the way to silence a pesky gadfly on social media is to report them to the police for ‘harassment’ or ‘causing offence’ or ‘hate speech’.

The boys in blue will be down on them like a ton of bricks and after they discover that no crime has been committed – because challenging Left-wing group think isn’t actually against the law, at least not yet – they will dutifully record the episode as a ‘non-crime hate incident’.

Meanwhile, shoplifters and mobile phone thieves run riot.

Worth reading in full.

Stop Press 2: The Telegraph has published a follow-up piece about the FSU helping Julian Foulkes sue Kent Police for wrongful arrest.