Essex Police have confirmed they are investigating alleged criminal racial hatred after columnist Allison Pearson said she was “dumbfounded and upset” when she was questioned by police last week.

Allison Pearson, a Telegraph columnist, said police knocked on her door on Remembrance Sunday and informed her she was being investigated for alleged incitement of racial hatred over a post online that has since been deleted.

When Allison Pearson posted on X in the wake of the pro-Palestine protests, she never expected to find herself at the centre of a major police investigation. But on Remembrance Sunday, the award-winning writer found herself questioned at her home by two officers accusing her of hate speech.

Essex Police say they are investigating Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson over an alleged criminal offence, rather than for a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) as she has suggested.

Essex Police has defended its actions after Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson said she was left “dumbstruck” by a visit to her home on Remembrance Sunday over a social media post. Officers visited Pearson as part of an investigation into alleged incitement to racial hatred, following a complaint from a member of the public, the force said.

Officers from Metropolitan Police, Sussex Police and Essex Police have all handled ‘racial hatred’ complaint against Telegraph journalist

Essex Police under fire for investigating Allison Pearson's tweet. Discover the details of the 'non-crime hat incident' and the implications for free speech.

Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson received a visit from Essex Police last Sunday and was told she was under investigation for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a tweet posted.