Thought police are cracking down on our right to speak

SINCE when did having an opinion become a crime? The case of two parents arrested for sending emails to their child's school and criticising it in WhatsApp messages and on social media suggests it has and that should terrify all of us. Six uniformed officers turned up at the Hertfordshire home of Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine.

- Duncan Barkes

Looking at footage from the raid you might think their sub-urban house was being used as a base for criminal gangs, drug dealing or to hide an inmate who had recently escaped from prison. At least five officers and three cars are visible.

But no, instead it appears such heavy-handed policing is increasingly the norm these days to tackle opinions, criticism and words that somebody might complain to the police about.

Presumably, there's no real crime going on in Hertfordshire. The shoplifters have all turned over a new leaf. The robberies, violence, burglaries, car and bike nicking have all stopped. Everybody in the county feels safe to walk the streets at night. The drug dealers have all been banished and anti-social behaviour has ceased to exist.

If only this were true.

Which is why this latest incident is not only disturbing but brings into question modern policing priorities.

THE parents in question had concerns about the recruitment process for a new headteacher at Cowley Hill Primary. They had been writing emails. They had also made critical comments in a private WhatsApp group of parents with children at the school. These comments were reported to the police.