Elderly Former Constable Gets Justice After Being | Political News
In February, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer sat down with Fox News’ Bret Baier, who requested him a query about Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of both Britain and the European Union’s censorship of free speech. Starmer responded, “We do not consider in censoring speech…we champion free speech in the United Kingdom.”
The 2023 case of a man accused of thought crimes would point out in any other case. Julian Foulkes, a retired particular constable from Gillingham, Kent, did nothing but make a involved response to an X post about the pro-Palestine protests that had erupted in the U.Okay. and the United States.
The post thread (which seems to have been deleted) was in response to a dialog between a consumer named “Mr Ethical” and Suella Braverman, then a member of Parliament. Mr Ethical wrote to Braverman, “as someone who was on one of the ‘hate marches’, if you call me an antisemite I will sue you.” Foulkes responded to them both, “One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals….”
Within two days, the Metropolitan Police Intelligence Command knowledgeable on Foulkes, and the Kent Police, the drive with whom he served honorably for 10 years, tossed his home and arrested him.
Julian Foulkes, from Gillingham, Kent, was handcuffed at his home by six officers after replying to a pro-Palestinian activist on X.
Kent Police officers searched his home and commented on his “very Brexity” ebook assortment. The drive detained the 71-year-old for eight hours, interrogated and issued him with a warning after officers visited his home on Nov 2 2023.
Foulkes was detained for eight hours and interrogated under the Malicious Communications Act. They issued a warning, which he accepted because he feared he wouldn’t be allowed to go to his daughter in Australia. Once the mud settled, The Free Speech Union legal advocacy group assisted Foulkes in submitting a lawsuit against the Kent Police, citing wrongful arrest and violation of his free speech rights. Eighteen months later, Foulkes prevailed and gained his case:
The Free Speech Union is celebrating a main win after serving to ex-cop Julian Foulkes secure £20,000 from Kent Police after they wrongly arrested him over a lawful tweet about rising antisemitism. https://t.co/HGDGQZnTZD
— Toby Young (@toadmeister) May 31, 2025
In early May, the warning was expunged from Foulkes’ document and he was awarded 20,000 kilos, roughly 26,000 in U.S. {dollars}.
Earlier this month, Kent Police confirmed that the warning was a mistake and had been deleted from Mr Foulkes’s document.
Tim Smith, the drive’s chief constable, later phoned Mr Foulkes personally to offer an apology for the “ordeal he endured”.
Now, in a letter despatched to Mr Foulkes’ solicitors, the drive reiterated Mr Smith’s apology for the “distress caused by the actions of his officers” .
Mr Foulkes informed The Telegraph he was “naturally pleased that Kent Police had been swift to follow their apology with compensation”.
“However, this was never about money,” he mentioned.
“For me, it was a simple matter of right and wrong and I now need to see that the full investigation I have been promised takes place and necessary actions are taken to prevent any recurrence.”
What a horrible ordeal for a retiree and a former police officer to have to endure. But the direction the U.Okay. has been going under PM Starmer still doesn’t bode effectively for anybody’s free speech rights. However, the legal precedent set and the financial award is a cautionary story on overstepping boundaries:
It also confirmed Kent Police would agree to an out-of-court settlement after Mr Foulkes launched a legal problem, supported by the Free Speech Union (FSU), against the drive for wrongful arrest and detention.
The letter, despatched by a lawyer for the drive, learn: “I am instructed to accept the offer of early resolution without recourse to litigation by payment of compensation in the sum of £20,000 plus your client’s reasonable legal fees in full and final settlement of all prospective claims arising from his arrest on Nov 2 2023.”
Foulkes appeared on British information community GB News and debunked Starmer’s response to VP Vance’s criticisms.
WATCH:
‘Free speech has been an problem for a very long time.’
Julian Foulkes, who was arrested for posting about antisemitism on X, argues against Sir Keir Starmer’s claims that we have had free speech in the UK ‘for a long time’. pic.twitter.com/q5igdGLqQC
— GB News (@GBNEWS) May 17, 2025
This one case is an indicator of just how far off the rails the mom nation has gone. Starmer has moderated on different issues of current date, such as the rampant unlawful immigration and re-establishing English as the first language for Great Britain–while giving full-throated help to the Europeans’ crackdown on speech. But with the EU’s heightened efforts to control thought and speech, while also attacking the United States’ stance on free speech, it might be lights out for Great Britain next.
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