A leading feminist writer ‘sent police packing’ when they visited her home to investigate one of her tweets as a ‘hate crime’.
Julie Bindel said she was told by two Metropolitan Police officers that a ‘transgender man’ from Holland had reported one of her social media posts.
They asked her to voluntarily attend the local police station to make a statement in an incident similar to the case of Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson.
She is being investigated by Essex Police over a deleted tweet posted a year ago being treated as a possible offence of ‘inciting racial hatred online’.
Ms Bindel – like Ms Pearson –said she was given limited details about the complaint.
Police would not reveal which tweet prompted it, the identity of the complainant or what type of hate crime was being investigated, Ms Bindel said.
So the author and journalist, a prominent critic of gender ideology, refused to co-operate.
Recalling the visit on a Sunday in 2019 in an article for The Sunday Telegraph, Ms Bindel said: ‘I was able to send the two officers packing, without their visit even spoiling my lunch.
‘The officers left looking a little bewildered. I did have a sense that they understood what a ridiculous mission they have been sent on. I advised that they could better use their time investigating rape and domestic violence.’
Ms Bindel, who also occasionally writes for the Mail, said she had a phone call from one of the officers the next day telling her that the investigation had been dropped.
Describing the visit as ‘Orwellian’, she said: ‘Police have limited time to investigate actual crime but are instead being tasked with ticking off the likes of me for daring to tweet that ‘trans women are NOT women’ (or whatever the person in Holland had objected to).
‘I know the law on these issues and am well aware they had no chance in getting the Crown Prosecution Service to press charges.
‘Nevertheless, I thought about the women who have lost jobs, been hounded out of college courses, friendship groups and university societies, as well as those who would have found it distressing to be threatened with a hate crime conviction for no good reason.
‘A criminal record is serious and can have a terrible effect on a person’s livelihood, reputation and self-esteem.
‘Police coming after those of us who do nothing more than speak the truth about gender madness and refuse to bend the knee to the crazy cultists are doing a massive public disservice.’
The Metropolitan Police has no information about this incident but a spokesman said: ‘We take all reports of hate crime extremely seriously and are committed to investigating allegations thoroughly and impartially where they are made.
‘Our approach seeks to balance the right to free speech with our duty to protect individuals and our communities.’