Keir Starmer responds to free speech row after journalist quizzed & tells cops to ‘focus on what matters to communities’

SIR Keir Starmer has told cops to focus “on what matters to communities” — not on tweets.

The PM waded into the free speech row after a journalist was quizzed over a year-old deleted message.

The backlash grew as it emerged children as young as nine and people at work are being investigated for so-called non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs).

Sir Keir, in ­Brazil today for the G20 summit, told reporters: “Firstly, obviously, this is a matter for the police themselves.

“I think that as a general principle the police should concentrate on what matters most to their communities.”

Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson revealed that Essex Police quizzed her about a tweet from November 2023.

They say it is being treated as a criminal matter but she said she was told it is both a non-crime hate incident and an allegation of inciting racial hatred.

Essex’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst stoked the row by asking if probing non-crime hate incidents was “the best use of officers’ time”.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said police should focus on “investigating crimes”.

The Home Office said it was reviewing whether the current process “strikes the right balance”.