Responding to tweets should not be the police’s first priority and forces should “concentrate on what matters most to their communities”, the prime minister has said, as Essex police investigate an allegation of inciting racial hatred by the Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson for allegedly posting a message on X labelling protesters as “Jew haters”. Keir Starmer said he would defend the police’s right to make operational decisions, and said they would be “held to account” for them. His comments were made as fierce debate about free speech continued after Pearson claimed she was left “dumbstruck” by a visit by police
