Mick Hartley

Some thoughts on the arrest of the autistic girl by West Yorkshire police from Robert Jessel, co-founder of Fair Cop:

There is much that we do not know about the events of 6/7 August. Such evidence as we have — primarily the video clip that’s been circulating on social media — does not show the alleged incident. West Yorkshire Police tweeted to warn the public not to rush to conclusions but revealed the girl had been arrested “on suspicion of a homophobic public order offence”.

This has not prevented the mother from giving an interview to Reduxx claiming that her daughter’s crime was to make an innocent remark about her WPC escort: “I think she’s a lesbian like nanna Julie.” The mother alleges the officer responded by telling the girl she would be arrested before calling for back-up. The clip begins after the squad’s arrival, with the girl — clearly in the middle of an autistic meltdown — hiding in a cupboard and beating herself with her fists….

West Yorkshire Police must now justify the officers’ actions in terms of lawful arrest and proportional force. Failure to do so would significantly undermine public trust, especially among people with autism and other disabilities. 

One thing we can say for certain is that West Yorks has form when it comes to authoritarian overreach. The force twice interviewed women’s rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen for tweeting about Mermaids CEO Susie Green, going so far as to refer the case to the CPS. A couple of years later, the same force arrested her for holding a lockdown-compliant rally after deciding that women’s rights do not qualify as a political cause. 

What’s more, the Leeds incident fits perfectly into a pattern that Fair Cop has been highlighting for years: the politicisation of UK police forces by TQ+ advocates like Stonewall, police officers’ abrogation of their duty to impartiality, and their completely disproportionate response to suspected hate incidents. Or at least, to some incidents.  

Because some “hate” is more equal than others. What’s so striking about these cases is that they almost always concern comments about gender or sexuality. If the police have ever arrested a rainbow flag-toting youngster for being rude about autistic people, I must have missed it. (There are exceptions. Remember, for example, WYP’s shameful cowardice in the Batley teacher case.) 

This special treatment speaks to the sustained influence of TQ+ ideology over the police. West Yorks no longer pays a subscription to Stonewall, having forked out £15,500 for membership of the Diversity Champions scheme between 2011-18. But the charity’s influence lingers long, most publicly in the presence of WYP’s LGBTQ+ Twitter account. 

Most forces in England and Wales have these affiliated accounts. Staffed by activist officers, promoting political and partisan opinions, and often copying Stonewall’s messaging word-for-word, they operate in direct contravention of the College of Policing’s Code of Ethics on impartiality. They also resist any attempt to engage in dialogue: Fair Cop is blocked by West Yorks’ LGBT account (along with most other forces’).

When West Yorks publishes the results of its investigation, it will reveal one of two possible scenarios. First, that the teenager indeed committed a homophobic public order offence — for example, by screaming “Get your hands off me you fucking lesbian!” 

But this raises further uncomfortable questions for the police. You can’t commit a public order offence within a private dwelling, yet WYP has publicly stated that she had been arrested for a public order offence. But if she said something worthy of arrest in the city centre, why did the police bring her home? 

Alternatively, if the mother’s account is true, it will highlight the homophobia at the heart of TQ+ activism: that it promotes the idea that “lesbian” is a dirty word, and that it’s hateful to wonder whether someone might be gay. Moreover, it will show that though police forces are no longer paying protection money to Stonewall, Stonewall Law lives on.

The police have embraced the whole Pride business with some enthusiasm, clearly seeing it as an opportunity to parade their good intentions and inclusivity in the face of their historic persecution of gays. But this comes tinged with the Stonewall effect, so it's very much more about the T and not so much about the LGB.

How relevant that is to this current case remains to be seen. An apology to the girl and her family would be a good start, though.