Free Speech is a ‘Postcode Lottery’ in Britain

Max Thompson, Campaigns Officer

15 May 2026

New data published this week lays bare the true extent of Britain's free speech crisis. Startling figures show that freedom of expression has become a postcode lottery, with some police forces — Cumbria among them — up to 30 times more likely to make arrests for speech-related offences than others.

Big Brother Watch has exposed sharp disparities in arrest rates across constabularies, with some forces making eight times more arrests than their neighbours and detaining people at around twice the national average.

The group obtained custody data for alleged offences recorded under Section 127 of the Communications Act, Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act, and Section 179 of the Online Safety Act.

Cumbria Police recorded the highest arrest rate once the data was adjusted for population size: 7.7 detentions per 10,000 people — roughly one in every 1,300 residents — across 2024–25. The force made arrests for these offences at 2.5 times the national average, detained eight people for every one person held by neighbouring Northumbria Police, and arrested at a rate 30 times higher than Staffordshire Police, which had the lowest number of detentions per capita.

Is Staffordshire now the last bastion of free speech in the country?

In Wales, Gwent Police made 5.85 arrests per 10,000 residents — the second-highest rate in the UK and roughly double the national average. Essex Police made 5.5 arrests per 10,000 people across 2024 and 2025, again nearly double the national average. Greater Manchester and Staffordshire each arrested one in every 45,000 residents for speech-related offences. Surrey Police arrested 0.6 per 10,000, while Wiltshire and Durham Police detained 0.8 per 10,000.

Unsurprisingly, the Metropolitan Police made the most arrests in absolute terms over the same two-year period — a total of 3,119. Given that it covers by far the largest population, however, the adjusted figure comes out at around the national average: 3.4 arrests per 10,000 people.

Maya Thomas, Legal and Policy Officer at Big Brother Watch, told The Times: "Freedom of speech is a universal right in a democracy, but our research shows that it is a postcode lottery in Britain.

"Where you live can dramatically affect your chances of being arrested for a speech offence, with some police forces making eight times as many arrests as their neighbours under dangerously broad powers.

"A democracy only works if everyone, from the government to the public, clearly understands what the law does and doesn’t allow. But the differences in these figures suggest that in Britain, your right to free speech often depends on where you live rather than on the law itself."

While forces such as Cumbria insist they recognise the importance of freedom of expression and do not police lawful speech, it is increasingly clear that free speech is becoming a postcode lottery across the country.

Read more in The Times.