A retired British police officer was arrested and held in a cell for eight hours after posting concerns about rising anti-Semitism in the UK on social media, The Telegraph has revealed.
Julian Foulkes, a 71-year-old former special constable from Gillingham, Kent, was detained at his home in November 2023 by six officers from Kent Police—the same force he served for over a decade.
His post on X (formerly Twitter) had criticised a supporter of pro-Palestinian marches and raised alarm about anti-Jewish sentiment.
Bodycam footage captured during the arrest shows officers rifling through Mr Foulkes’s personal belongings and commenting on his bookshelves, which contained titles by Douglas Murray and issues of The Spectator.
Officers reportedly described the content as “very Brexity.” They also questioned a household shopping list written by his wife, which included bleach, tin foil, and gloves.
“This is an attack on free speech,” Mr Foulkes told The Telegraph. “If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. People need to wake up and be shocked by this.”
His experience adds to growing concerns about overreach by police in cases involving lawful expression. In a similar case, Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson was visited by officers over a social media post regarding pro-Palestinian protests.
Officers confiscated Mr Foulkes’s electronic devices and seized newspaper cuttings related to the tragic death of his daughter, Francesca, who was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Ibiza 15 years ago. “That’s sad,” one officer is heard saying on the footage as she reads through memorial clippings.
Despite insisting he had broken no law, Mr Foulkes accepted a police caution amid fears it could affect his ability to visit his daughter in Australia. Kent Police has since admitted the caution was wrongly issued and has removed it from his record.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Kent Police has concluded that the caution against Mr Foulkes was not appropriate in the circumstances and should not have been issued. The caution has been expunged, and a review will now take place to identify any learning opportunities.”
The incident took place during a time of heightened tensions following the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 2023, the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
In the aftermath, pro-Palestinian marches swept through London, with numerous cases of anti-Semitic placards and chants reported. Then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman labelled them “hate marches.”
Mr Foulkes said Jewish friends had expressed fear about travelling into central London and described his shock at the arrest.
He also criticised what he sees as a growing culture of political correctness within the police. “I never saw anything like this when I was on the force,” he said. “The woke mind virus has infected everything—including policing.”
Other recent cases have added to public concern. In March, officers from Hertfordshire Police arrested parents who had criticised a school in a WhatsApp group. Labour peer Lord Austin was investigated for labelling Hamas “Islamist,” and feminist journalist Julie Bindel was visited by police after a transgender person reported her tweets as hate speech.
Mr Foulkes’s experience is fuelling renewed debate over the balance between hate crime policing and freedom of expression in modern Britain.
