Britain’s free speech traditions face fresh erosion as South Wales Police directs officers to record conversations and comments about Islam that stray beyond what the force deems “legitimate” discussion.
The policy, exposed in recent social media posts, risks logging lawful criticism as hostility incidents that could surface in future employment checks.
This move builds directly on the Labour government’s March definition of “anti-Muslim hostility” and exposes how public bodies are “gold-plating” safeguards meant to protect open debate.
Police force orders officers to keep record of Britons' anti-Islam commentshttps://t.co/kQIa0v3VGz
South Wales Police has told staff to log anything exceeding its view of ‘acceptable’ talk on Islam. The Free Speech Union immediately challenged the guidance, warning it hands officers unchecked power to decide acceptable speech and creates a chilling effect on expression.
The FSU post laid it out plainly, noting “South Wales Police are zealously enforcing their own definition of Islamophobia in a way that threatens free speech.”
? South Wales Police are zealously enforcing their own definition of Islamophobia in a way that threatens free speech.The force has instructed staff to log anything that goes beyond what it considers a “legitimate” discussion of Islam.This subjective definition gives…pic.twitter.com/cI6P188WOm
“This subjective definition gives officers the power to decide what constitutes acceptable speech and risks having a chilling effect on free expression,” the FSU adds.
The FSU has written to South Wales Police calling on them to withdraw the guidance. “If they fail to do so, we have threatened legal action by way of judicial review,” it further notes.
FSU General Secretary Lord Young said South Wales Police risked “penalising people for expressing misgivings about Islam”, contrary to free speech protections enshrined in law. Britain’s blasphemy laws were abolished by Parliament in 2008.
Source: modernity
