Councillor will keep exposing police treatment for free speech tweet
from Christian Concern:
A Conservative Party councillor says he will continue to expose the treatment he received from police after supporting fellow councillor King Lawal’s freedom of speech.
In August, Cllr Anthony Stevens, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, told the media his harrowing story of being arrested in front of his family for a handful of tweets defending free speech.
On 8 August, Cllr Steven’s home was swooped on by police without warning. He was searched in front of his wife and children, then detained at Kettering police station, where he was grilled about a recent tweet where he shared a petition in support of fellow Conservative councillor, King Lawal.
Cllr King Lawal had had his life ‘torn apart’ in July for a tweet expressing his Christian belief that Pride is sin. Within days of sending the tweet, Cllr Lawal, 31, was suspended from the Conservative Group on the Council and cancelled by many other organisations which included him being forced out of his own business and even being barred from holding a surgery at a local library.
‘Censorship letter from the police’
Following media interest in Cllr Stevens’ arrest, Baroness Foster had tweeted to Northamptonshire Police describing what had happened as an ‘appalling episode and breach of free speech’ and urged them to drop the charges so that Cllr Stevens can ‘get on with his life.’
In response, the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, Nick Adderley, said he had requested a ‘review’ of the ‘circumstances and facts of the case.’
Instead of the case being dropped against him, however, Cllr Stevens received a letter through his door from Detective Inspector Mark Hopkinson from the Criminal Investigation department.
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