Retired police officer is suing his former workplace after being arrested over ‘thought crime’ X post

A retired special constable is planning to sue his former police force after they handcuffed him in his own home over a social media post warning about the threat of anti-Semitism in Britain. 

Julian Foulkes, from Gillingham, was detained at his home by six officers from Kent Police – the very same force he had given ten years of his life to – after he questioned a supporter of pro-Palestine demonstrations on X in November 2023.

In the context of a rise in protests at the start of the Israel-Hamas war – and reports of an anti-Semitic mob storming a Russian airport – Mr Foulkes tweeted an activist: ‘One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals…’ 

‘Shocked’ and ‘flabbergasted’, Mr Foulkes was later handcuffed on his own doorstep by uniformed officers equipped with batons and pepper spray. 

The 71-year-old was detained for eight hours, interrogated and issued with a caution. But on Tuesday, Kent Police apologised for the ‘distress’ caused to one of their former colleagues and deleted the caution from his record.

Speaking to MailOnline today, Mr Foulkes revealed he had accepted an offer from the Free Speech Union to fund a lawsuit against Kent Police for wrongful arrest and detention.

He said: ‘This is absolutely an Orwellian-style thought crime. It’s absolutely ridiculous because I sent a tweet which was reasonable in the circumstances and it was a tweet based on events I’d read about just the previous day and in the previous week.

‘It was taken out of context and I really can’t go through all the failings of Kent police – as much as I’d like to – but it’s been quite astonishing to me especially as I served with them for 10 years.’

Julian Foulkes (pictured) was arrested by Kent Police cops in November 2023 after he questioned a supporter of pro-Palestine demonstrations on X 

Bodycam footage of Mr Foulkes’ arrest in November 2023, shows officers describing the 71-year-old’s books and literature scattered around his home as ‘very Brexity things’

They also searched through most of his personal items, including newspaper clippings from the funeral as well as the police probe of his daughter, Francesca’s death

A graphic illustrating the tweets shared by Mr Foulkes, which were later flagged to Kent Police by Metropolitan Police Intelligence Command

Kent Police misinterpreted his tweet as being anti-Jewish but has since removed the caution from Mr Foulkes’ record as well as his biometric data that was stored in police files.

Mr Foulkes said: ‘I sat on it for nine months or so wondering what to do – whether to go public but decided it was best to speak out.

‘Career-wise it’s not going to hurt me. At my age, I’ve got no plans to work again so that’s not something that affects me.

‘In practical terms the worst thing was the injustice and that’s the thing I wanted to tackle because there’s right and wrong – and I knew they were wrong.

‘I got the right result in getting the caution overturned and it’s not something Kent Police – indeed any police force do very often.’

Toby Young, leader of the Free Speech Union, told MailOnline that ‘shoplifters and mobile phone thieves are running riot’ while police come down on those who speak out ‘like a ton of bricks’ before eventually recording it as a ‘non-crime hate incident’. 

Mr Young said: ‘The police have allowed themselves to become the paramilitary wing of the BBC. 

‘If you’re a progressive liberal activist, particularly if you work in the public sector, the way to silence a pesky gadfly on social media is to report them to the police for ‘harassment’ or ‘causing offence’ or ‘hate speech’. 

Mr Foulkes’s case is the latest in a string of heavy-handed police responses over ‘thought crimes’

FEBRUARY: Doorcam footage of police visiting grandmother Helen Jones’s house after she called for Labour councillors to resign

JANUARY: CCTV shows six uniformed police officers descending on a couple’s home over messages they sent in a parent WhatsApp chat

‘The boys in blue will be down on them like a ton of bricks and after they discover that no crime has been committed – because challenging Left-wing group think isn’t actually against the law, at least not yet – they will dutifully record the episode as a ‘non-crime hate incident’. 

‘Meanwhile, shoplifters and mobile phone thieves run riot.’ 

Mr Foulkes’s case is the latest in a string of heavy-handed police responses over ‘thought crimes’, with writers, councillors and even parents talking in school WhatsApp groups targeted in recent months.

The term ‘thought crime’ gained prominence in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 and refers to an opinion that is considered socially unacceptable due to its perceived threat to those in authority.

The crackdown on free speech has triggered a furious response from critics who say police should prioritise their time on criminals rather than treating Britain like an ‘Orwellian’ state.  

Condemning the arrest of Mr Foulkes, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said last night: ‘Arresting a 71 year old man and holding him for hours in a police cell over a tweet that was obviously not criminal is completely unacceptable.

‘The Police should spend their time catching actual criminals, not policing offence on Twitter.’

Mr Foulkes’ ordeal started when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, which saw 1,200 people killed and over 250 taken hostage. The retaliatory strikes by Israel, which led to a full-blown war, sparked several pro-Palestine marches in London. 

The retired policeman had been told by his Jewish friends about how they felt unsafe travelling to the bustling city. Later that October, he had become increasingly worried having reports of mobs storming an airport in Dagestan, Russia to intercept Israeli citizens.

So, the next day when he saw a post from an account called Mr Ethical, which read: ‘Dear @SuellaBraverman – as someone who was on one of the ‘hate marches’, if you call me an antisemite I will sue you,’ he felt inclined to respond. 

He responded to the tweet saying: ‘One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals…’ 

He claimed he had never been in contact with the account prior, and was warning of possible escalation with the on-going pro-Palestinian protests.

Looking back on the incident, the retired policeman said the message wouldn’t have been unclear if he had written ‘What next? You are…’ at the beginning of the response. 

However he argued that even without the four extra words, his message was a clear warning regarding the escalation of anti-Semitism. 

On November 1 his posted was flagged to Kent Police by the Metropolitan Police Intelligence Command, due to ‘concerns around online content’ – unbeknownst to Mr Foulkes.  His tweet had only been viewed 26 times.

Mr Foulkes also revealed that he had received a ‘personal apology’ from the chief constable of Kent Police

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told police to ‘spend their time catching actual criminals’, while columnist Allison Pearson, who was quizzed by police over a social media post herself, described it as ‘Stasi Britain’ 

The next day six police officers arrived at Mr Foulkes’ door, leaving him ‘totally shocked’ and ‘flabbergasted’ as he was placed into handcuffs on his very own doorstep.

Bodycam footage of the incident in November 2023, shows officers describing the 71-year-old’s books and literature scattered around his home as ‘very Brexity things’, according to The Telegraph. 

Police also raised worries over a shopping list, written by the retired man’s hairdresser wife, which included items such as bleach, tin foil and gloves, whilst they seized Mr Foulkes electronic devices from his home. 

They also searched through most of his personal items, including newspaper clippings about the funeral and police probe into the death of his daughter Francesca, who was killed by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run tragedy in Ibiza 15 years ago.

One officer was allegedly heard saying: ‘Ah. That’s sad,’ as she rummaged through the old articles about his late daughter, before he was put in a police cell for eight hours. 

Kent Police apologised to Mr Foulkes (pictured) and deleted the caution from his record

After hours of interrogation on suspicion of malicious communication, the ex-police officer accepted a warning as he worried it could affect any future visits to see his daughter who resides in Australia.

‘My life wouldn’t be worth living if I couldn’t see her. At the time, I believed a caution wouldn’t affect travel, but a conviction definitely would,’ he said. 

He added: ‘That’s about the level of extremist I am… a few Douglas Murray books and some on Brexit.’ 

On Sunday, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman told The Telegraph: ‘We live in dangerous times when the police investigate speaking the truth.

‘This outrageous and sorry episode shows not only that freedom of speech is under attack in the UK, but that it’s in crisis. Law-abiding people should not be investigated for non-existent thought crimes.’

Meanwhile Mr Foulkes’ solicitor, Matthew Elkins, said: ‘The police face an almost impossible task monitoring social media, and they won’t enjoy being labelled the thought police, but when someone like Julian is dragged from his home the cap appears to fit.’

In January, a couple were hauled behind bars for eight hours after they were arrested over WhatsApp messages they had sent about their child’s school.  

Maxie Allen, 50, and Rosalind Levine, 46, from Borehamwood, thought their eldest daughter had died when six police officers swooped on their home. Ms Allen’s first thought was ‘pure relief’ when she was instead arrested.

The couple were detained by Hertfordshire Police officers in front of their three-year-old daughter. Their family home was searched as the pair were questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property.

Their crime was to send a few mocking and sarcastic comments about the recruitment process of a new headteacher at the primary school attended by their eldest daughter. 

A five-week investigation concluded that no action would be taken. 

‘It was hard to shake off the sense that I was living in a police state,’ Ms Allen previously told MailOnline.

Just a few days later, there was another curious case in which a mother-of-two was left to stew in a police cell for more than seven hours after she confiscated two iPads belonging to her children.

Vanessa Brown, a 50-year-old history teacher, was searched and had custody photographs and fingerprints taken after she was accused of theft when she confiscated her daughters’ devices to ensure they were not distracted from their studies.

Surrey Police, who also visited the children’s school, pulling one of Ms Brown’s daughters out of class, have since acknowledged their error. The force said they swooped after getting a report of an alleged theft from a man in his 40s.

Ms Brown was apprehended at her mother’s home in Cobham, Surrey. Officers said a tracking device showed the iPads were at the address and she was ‘detained after refusing to cooperate.’

She was eventually returned home, only after a 12-hour ordeal that, due to her bail conditions, threatened to prevent her from seeing her children on Mother’s Day.

It follows a spate of ‘thought police’ incidents. In February, Helen Jones was paid a visit by police over a Facebook post

Helen Jones (pictured) had called for the resignation of local councillors embroiled in the WhatsApp scandal exposed by The Mail on Sunday 

In February, the Mail on Sunday revealed how two police officers visited a grandmother at her own home after she criticised Labour politicians on Facebook. 

Helen Jones was questioned by officers after she called for local councillors embroiled in the Labour WhatsApp group chat scandal to resign. 

‘It was actually quite scary. It made me think I best just keep quiet for the rest of my life, because you just can’t say anything these days,’ she said at the time.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith described the police action as ‘pathetic’ and called them the ‘thoughtless thought police’, adding: ‘It’s a waste of police time. It’s absurd that they went to speak to her. They should have dismissed it on the spot.’

There were also two incidents last November where writers were questioned by police over their social media posts.

One of those was Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson, who was investigated over a tweet she had posted, and then quickly deleted, a year prior in November 2023.

Rosaline Levine was arrested with partner Maxie Allen (pictured with children) for malicious communications, harassment and causing a nuisance on school premises but no charges were brought forward

Ms Pearson revealed officers from Essex Police knocked on her door on Remembrance Day last November to inform her that she was at the centre of a probe over allegedly stirring up racial hatred on social media.

However, they could not give her any details about what post was being investigated or who complained. Essex Police dropped its investigation after the force was advised by Crown Prosecution Service lawyers that it’s case failed to meet the evidential test.

‘I was obviously shocked and devastated in the first place to have had the police on my doorstep on Remembrance Sunday, of all days, telling me I had put something up on social media which they said was stirring up racial hatred,’ she told the Mail at the time.

Ms Pearson has also reacted to the arrest of Mr Foulkes, posting: ‘Police are out of control. In Stasi Britain, Julian Foulkes, a retired police officer, was handcuffed, home searched, because he tweeted his concern about anti-semitism. 

‘Why don’t police care about ‘Jew haters’?’

In a similar case that emerged days later after Ms Pearsons, leading feminist writer Julie Bindel was paid a visit by two Metropolitan Police officers after a ‘transgender man from Holland’ reported one of her social media posts.

Last November, columnist Allison Pearson revealed she had been quizzed by police over a social media post 

Feminist author Julie Bindel then revealed she ‘sent police packing’ when they visited her home to investigate one of her tweets as a ‘hate crime’. She said she was told by two Metropolitan Police officers that a ‘transgender man’ from Holland had reported one of her social media posts

Ms Bindel – like Ms Pearson – said she was given limited details about the complaint.

Police would not reveal which tweet prompted it, the identity of the complainant or what type of hate crime was being investigated, Ms Bindel said.

The author and journalist, a prominent critic of gender ideology, refused to co-operate, describing the police response as ‘Orwellian’.

Recalling the visit on a Sunday in 2019 in an article for The Sunday Telegraph, Ms Bindel said: ‘I was able to send the two officers packing, without their visit even spoiling my lunch.

‘The officers left looking a little bewildered. I did have a sense that they understood what a ridiculous mission they have been sent on. I advised that they could better use their time investigating rape and domestic violence.’

The latest incident involving Mr Foulkes has yet again triggered outrage, with many quick to throw their support behind the 71-year-old.

One wrote: ‘The thought police waging war on the common man is bad enough but on one of their very own former officers is shameful.’ 

And in a reference to Orwell’s dystopian novel, another posted: ‘1984 is here.’

Kent Police have since confessed the decision to give Mr Foulkes a caution was a mistake and have wiped it off the 71-year-old’s record. 

History teacher Vanessa Brown said she suffered ‘unspeakable devastation and trauma’ after she was left to stew in a policy custody cell for more than seven hours after being accused of stealing her childrens’ iPads

Mr Foulkes has since aired his concerns in what he believes to be an attack on freedom of speech, quipping: ‘I saw Starmer in the White House telling Trump we’ve had it in the UK for a very long time, and I thought, ‘Yeah, right.’ We can see what’s really going on.’ 

Divulging that he had never experienced ‘anything like this’ during his time on the force, he added that a ‘woke mind virus’ was infecting everything, including the police. 

Although his cuffs were later removed after an ex-coworker recognised him at the station, it was only the beginning for Mr Foulkes, as he saw colleagues rummage some of the most private parts of his home. 

Following fears of neighbours thinking the worst, or being unable to see his surviving daughter again, the lowest moment came when Mr Foulkes attended the police station on November 10, so he could be given a caution. 

Despite feeling as though he had no choice at the time, a year later the burden of having not challenged the decision continued to plague his thought, and eventually he sought legal council. 

And although the caution has since been deleted on Tuesday, the repercussions have been devastating for the pensioner, who says its cost him money he ‘can’t afford’, whilst also marring his memories of serving Kent Police for over a decade.

While he initially accepted an unconditional caution, a Kent Police statement said a ‘review of the case by the force concluded that the caution was not appropriate in the circumstances’.

‘Kent Police apologise to Mr Foulkes for the distress caused and how the report was investigated,’ the statement said.

‘We have expunged the caution from his record and are pleased to facilitate this correction.’

A review will be undertaken to identify ‘learning opportunities’, police confirmed.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘This incident occurred under the previous government.

‘The Home Secretary has made clear that she believes all police forces should be focused on the central priorities of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission, including rebuilding neighbourhood policing, reducing anti-social behaviour, and making progress towards the unprecedented ambition to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls within a decade.

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