Non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs)
The Free Speech Union has covered 76 stories on this topic. Browse our coverage below.
10 June 2026
South Wales Police shelve Islamic blasphemy law after FSU legal threat
South Wales Police have shelved their controversial "anti-Muslim hostility" definition after the Free Speech Union threatened them with a judicial review.
5 June 2026
The FSU is supporting a former hate crime scrutiny panel chair after she was sacked by police for calling the threat from Islamism the "elephant in the room"
The Chairman of Bradford's policing scrutiny panel was sacked by West Yorkshire Police after complaining that officers were ignoring the elephant in the room of Islamist extremism after last year's synagogue attack.
2 June 2026
South Wales Police enforcing its own Islamophobia definition that will have a chilling effect on free speech
South Wales Police has told officers to log anti-Islam conversations that stray beyond what it deems "legitimate" — a subjective threshold that hands individual officers the power to determine acceptable speech and could see lawful expression recorded as an anti-social behaviour incident, potentially appearing in DBS checks. The Free Speech Union has written to the force demanding it withdraw the guidance, warning of judicial review if it refuses.
2 June 2026
FSU Henry Nowak Statement
Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student, was stabbed with a 21cm ceremonial knife on a night out in Southampton. When police arrived, they handcuffed and arrested him for an alleged racial slur rather than trying to save his life. The Free Speech Union has long warned that the police need to get their priorities straight, and there are serious questions Hampshire Police must answer.
20 May 2026
Met Police apologise to Graham Linehan
After a five-month investigation, the Metropolitan Police has issued an unreserved apology to Graham Linehan for his arrest at Heathrow Airport last September, when five armed officers detained him over posts he had made on X expressing gender-critical views. The apology is welcome — but it has taken far too long, and Graham should never have been arrested in the first place.
20 May 2026
FSU MEMBER TESTIMONIAL: Graham Linehan
In this week's FSU Member Testimonial, Graham Linehan describes the role the Free Speech Union played in supporting him through his arrest at Heathrow, the dropping of the criminal investigation against him, and the Metropolitan Police's eventual apology.
4 April 2026
Home Secretary calls time on NCHIs, but the battle for common sense policing continues
The Home Secretary has announced the abolition of non-crime hate incidents in England and Wales — a long-campaigned-for FSU victory — but the fight for common sense policing isn’t over yet.
1 February 2026
Non-Crime Hate Incidents set to go, says Home Secretary
The Home Secretary has announced she will scrap non-crime hate incidents in their current form, following high-profile cases including that of FSU member Graham Linehan.
19 December 2025
Gender-critical former police officer takes the Home Secretary to court
12 December 2025
Police Scotland apologise to Tory MSP over NCHI double standards
30 October 2025
The next stage in the fight against NCHIs
2 July 2025
Council accused of acting on false hate crime report to sanction gender-critical artist
23 May 2025
Police record Enoch Powell portrait in shop window as ‘non-crime hate incident’
22 April 2025
Conservatives seeking to scrap ‘non-crime hate incidents’
21 April 2025
We don’t know if non-crime hate incidents help fight crime, police admit
19 April 2025
FSU-backed free speech victory as High Court rejects complaint against gender critical blogger
2 April 2025
Police watchdog orders fresh inquiry after Police Scotland mishandles free speech complaint by FSU
7 March 2025
Police review suggests Essex Police was wrong not to record a ‘non-crime hate incident’ against journalist Allison Pearson
26 February 2025
Award-winning journalist sues police over social media investigation
26 February 2025
Non-crime hate incidents could be renamed rather than scrapped
14 February 2025
Should free speech campaigners hope Andrew Gwynne is prosecuted?
11 February 2025
NCHI logged against sacked government minister
30 January 2025
Home Office report says ‘two-tier’ policing is a right-wing myth (and calls for more use of NCHIs)
5 January 2025
Council ‘engagement officers’ issue more Asbo-style bans than police forces
4 January 2025
Jon Sopel book title at centre of non-crime race-hate row
30 December 2024
Police log parking and Snapchat rows as “non-crime hate incidents”
17 December 2024
Police chief demands complete rethink on non-crime hate incidents
6 December 2024
Michael Gove condemns NCHIs as ‘waste of police time’
28 November 2024
Non-crime hate incident recorded after neighbour played Bob Marley songs
27 November 2024
Abolish recording of non-crime hate incidents, former Supreme Court judge urges
26 November 2024
Non-crime hate incidents ‘dragging police into politics’
25 November 2024
Former Met chief calls for review of non-crime hate incidents
25 November 2024
When it comes to free speech, the UK is a third-class nation. How did we let this happen?
24 November 2024
Dirty pants on washing line recorded as non-crime hate incident by police
24 November 2024
Police log hate incident for refusal to shake hands in gender row
24 November 2024
Yvette Cooper plans to expand non-crime hate incidents despite Pearson row
21 November 2024
Allison Pearson’s police interview ‘Stasi-like’, says Labour MP
21 November 2024
Police drop investigation into FSU member Allison Pearson over tweet
21 November 2024
Police probes ‘should not trespass upon free speech’, chiefs told
21 November 2024
The true meaning of free speech
20 November 2024
Top prosecutor: I had no idea what non-crime hate incidents were
19 November 2024
Police should use ‘common sense’ when recording non-crime hate incidents, says Yvette Cooper
19 November 2024
The police must not be censors – it’s time to scrap NCHIs for good
18 November 2024
Tackle violent crime instead of tweets, Starmer urges police after Allison Pearson row
17 November 2024
Police get hate laws wrong 90pc of the time, says shadow home secretary
17 November 2024
Policing ‘hate speech’ is just the latest method of enforcing Left-wing orthodoxy
16 November 2024
Doctors and vicars accused of non-crime hate incidents
16 November 2024
I too had visit from police over tweet, says writer
16 November 2024
“Incompetent” Essex Police set up terror-style incident group for single Allison Pearson tweet
13 November 2024
FSU member and Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson faces investigation over alleged hate crime
13 November 2024
Musk leads growing backlash against police for investigating Allison Pearson
13 November 2024
Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson faces investigation over reported ‘non-crime hate incident’
22 September 2024
Does Britain Need a First Amendment?
22 September 2024
Right to offend is essential to being British
22 September 2024
When did the left stop owning free speech?
16 September 2024
Police are incorrectly recording too many non-crime hate incidents, watchdog warns
3 September 2024
FSU research reveals police log more non-crime hate incidents despite crackdown
29 August 2024
Labour and the return of Orwellian non-crime hate incidents
19 June 2024
Feminist campaigner accuses police of ‘bullying’ her over tweet about trans doctor
20 May 2024
Police accused of “trampling” over democracy after detectives put pressure on local Tory party to unseat councillor wrongly accused of ‘hate crime’
24 April 2024
Just 0.6pc of new SNP ‘hate crime’ reports deemed criminal offences
24 April 2024
Thought Police: home visit for UK man who expressed anger online about Sydney Bishop being stabbed by Islamist
11 April 2024
Hate Crime call handlers given script defending First Minister Humza Yousaf
8 April 2024
Scotland’s Hate Crime Act being “exploited” to fuel personal and political vendettas
5 April 2024
Humza Yousaf says Police Scotland is ‘reviewing’ guidance on NCHIs following the intervention by Murdo Fraser and the FSU
4 April 2024
Conservative MSP writes to Police Scotland chief over political bias in ‘non-crime hate incident’ recording
4 April 2024
Online comments made by JK Rowling not recorded as non-crime hate incident, Police Scotland confirms
4 April 2024
Tory MSP recorded for hate incident furious as police refuse to record NCHI against Humza Yousaf
3 April 2024
Fight the Scottish Hate Crime Bill, halt the rise of the Orwellian non-crime hate incident
2 April 2024
Scotland’s new hate crime law could be used to ‘settle scores’, say critics
28 March 2024
“Orwellian” Police Scotland blacklist of ‘hate incidents’
27 March 2024
Could police have recorded your name in their sinister secret log of ‘hate incidents’?
27 March 2024
Police delete Tory MP’s ‘non-crime hate incident’ record following FSU intervention
26 March 2024
Policing of free speech must end
25 March 2024
MSP threatens legal action against Police Scotland over ‘hate incident’ tweet claim, with the support of the FSU
12 March 2024
Police broke freedom of speech rules by logging ‘misgendering’ complaint against JK Rowling as hate incident
