[The Daily Telegraph says Essex Police has been
accused of attacking free speech after
launching an investigation into one
of its columnists, Allison Pearson,
for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a
social media post last year.
Pearson has said two officers visited
her to tell her about the investigation
on Sunday,
but they would not say which post it
concerned or who had made the complaint.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson
is quoted calling the behaviour of the police
"appalling", while
shadow home secretary
Chris Philp says he is "deeply concerned
this will have a chilling effect on free speech
and free expression".]