Essex Police refused to investigate an academic who claimed Sir Keir Starmer worked for “genocidal Jewish supremacists”, The Telegraph can reveal.
The force is currently investigating columnist Allison Pearson over a year-old deleted tweet.
While The Telegraph writer has not been told which specific tweet is at the centre of the allegations, she wrote posts about Hamas attacks on Israel and antisemitic signs around this time last year.
Suzanne, a teacher who did not want her second name published, told The Telegraph how she reported a tweet posted by Prof David Miller, a former Bristol University academic, to Essex Police in October.
The tweet, which made reference to the Prime Minister confirming that the UK stood with Israel following Iran’s missile attack on the nation, read: “Do you understand now? Do you see what the last decade has been about? Your Prime Minister does not work for you. He works for a handful of genocidal Jewish supremacists.”
Prof Miller, who has 79,000 followers, added: “He’s their errand boy and he will send your sons to die for ‘Israel’.”
Suzanne, 41, who is Jewish, was sent the tweet by a friend and reported it to Essex Police in early October.
Suzanne told The Telegraph: “To be honest it is pretty terrifying to be Jewish and see something like that – because while I know someone like David Miller isn’t going to go and beat up Jewish people, there are people that think that Jews deserve to be attacked.
“We saw an example of that in Amsterdam recently – so it is pretty scary, because as Jewish people we are all being blamed for everything that Israel does.”
However, Suzanne, from Essex, went on to receive a response from Essex Police that confirmed it was closing the case.
The officer who responded to Suzanne noted that the “tone” of the academic’s tweets “would cause elements of concern”, citing the “extremely contentious issue which pertains to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East”.
The officer went on to say: “Though I acknowledge this comment may offend some individuals, being offended does not make a person a victim of crime”, concluding that the comment did “not constitute a crime”.
Later on in the correspondence, on Monday – the day after Essex Police visited Pearson at her home – another officer wrote to clarify that the language used by their colleague, in relation to being satisfied the comment “does not stir up racial hatred”, was not “meant to be seen as dismissive to the feelings of those affected”.
Prof David was sacked by Bristol University for comments he made about Israel but went on to win a wrongful dismissal case against the institution.
When approached by The Telegraph, Prof David provided a lengthy response, part of which said: “My tweet was a response to an announcement by Keir Starmer ordering Britons to support the genocidal Zionist colony in Palestine, known as the State of Israel, in its war on Iran.”
Chief Superintendent Waheed Khan, Essex Police’s hate crime lead, said: “Everyone in Essex has the right to be safe and on behalf of the force, I want to reaffirm our commitment to tackling all forms of hate crime and to encourage victims to come forward to report incidents.
“We work closely with all the communities we serve in the county to understand any issues they face and work with them to address concerns quickly.
“All officers, staff and volunteers at Essex Police work hard every day to protect the safety and freedoms of our communities and we won’t tolerate hate crime in any form.”
