Free speech victory for trans tweet ex-policeman Harry Miller at Appeal Court

A retired policeman visited by his local force after tweeting about transgender rights has won a court battle over free speech after judges said that his treatment could have a “chilling effect on public debate”.

The Court of Appeal ruled unanimously today that the “hate crime operational guidance” from the College of Policing unlawfully breached Harry Miller’s human rights.

The ruling calls into question potentially thousands of other matters recorded since the guidance was issued in 2014.

Read article: Free speech victory for trans tweet ex-policeman Harry Miller at Appeal Court | News | The Times

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‘Being offensive is not an offence’

A major victory has been won for free speech in England. The Court of Appeal has ruled that so-called non-crime hate incidents can no longer be recorded by police. The case was brought by Harry Miller, one of the thousands of ordinary Britons to have this black mark put against his name, merely for expressing his views. Back in 2019, Miller, a Humberside businessman and former policeman, was investigated by police over some allegedly ‘transphobic’ tweets. One was a limerick that Miller had retweeted. Though no crime had been committed, the police recorded the tweets as a non-crime hate

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Harry Miller’s ‘transphobic tweets’ victory is a win for Priti Patel

Court decisions don’t often call for three cheers, but today’s Court of Appeal determination in the Harry Miller case is an exception. Essentially the judges have told the police to rewrite the rules on recording what they see as hate incidents.

Read article: Harry Miller’s ‘transphobic tweets’ victory is a win for Priti Patel | The Spectator

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Court of Appeal rules police ‘hate incidents’ guidance unlawful

Police guidance on the recording of ‘hate incidents’ unlawfully interferes with the right to freedom of expression, the Court of Appeal ruled today.

The College of Policing’s guidance requiring forces to record incidents perceived to be ‘motivated by a hostility or prejudice against a person’ as ‘non-crime hate incidents’ – irrespective of any evidence of ‘hate’ – encourages conduct which violates Article 10 of the ECHR, the court held in Miller v The College of Policing.

Read article: Court of Appeal rules police ‘hate incidents’ guidance unlawful | News | Law Gazette

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