The UK's retreat on policing non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) in late 2025 marks a significant, if partial, victory for free speech advocates after years of controversy. But as the dust settles after December 2025 announcements from police leaders recommending the scrapping of the NCHI regime, the broader landscape suggests this "step back" could soon be followed by a leap forward in other forms of speech regulation — especially under the Labour government and evolving online safety frameworks.
The Retreat: Scrapping NCHIs as "Not Fit for Purpose"
The saga began with mounting criticism of NCHIs — police records of perceived hostility (based on a third party's view) that don't meet criminal thresholds but could appear on enhanced DBS checks, prompt visits, or chill expression. High-profile cases fuelled outrage:
In 2023, police investigated thousands of "non-crime" matters, including trivial ones like schoolchildren's comments or political statements.
Lord Ian Austin (former Labour MP, now independent peer) highlighted absurdities: He was probed for calling Hamas "Islamists," while serious crimes like rapes (only ~2% charged) and burglaries languished.
Debates in Parliament (e.g., November 2024 Commons discussions) and a public petition led to an independent review announced in July 2025 by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and College of Policing. The review aimed to assess if the approach balanced harm prevention with human rights and freedoms — implicitly admitting the current system tipped too far toward overreach.
By October 2025, interim findings declared NCHIs "not fit for purpose," especially amid social media's explosion drawing police into online disputes. The Met Police already stopped investigating most in late 2025.
The bombshell came in December 2025: Police leaders recommended scrapping the category entirely. Instead, only the most serious anti-social behaviour (with clear escalation risk) would be recorded as intelligence — not on crime databases. Everyday "toxic culture wars" debates would no longer be policed this way. Chair of the College of Policing, Lord Herbert, called for a "sensible" reset: "It is not for policing to referee online debates on cultural issues."
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to back this, with final publication in early 2026. This represents real progress — freeing resources for actual crime, reducing chilling effects on speech, and addressing concerns from figures like Austin that "non-crime policing is utter nonsense."
The Likely Leap Forward: Pre-emptive Justice Persists
Yet Labour's response to related pressures (e.g., a 35,000-signature petition) was telling: They recommitted to monitoring "thoughts that could escalate," blaming Conservatives for dysfunction while insisting pre-emptive tools remain valid for community tensions. The review was framed partly as responding to court rulings favouring free speech, but not as abandoning the principle.
This hints at evolution, not abolition. Hate speech laws remain robust under statutes like the Public Order Act, Communications Act, and the Online Safety Act (fully in force by 2025-2026), requiring platforms to remove "illegal" content — including hate speech — with Ofcom oversight. Penalties for "grossly offensive" messages persist, and new codes (March/July 2025) expand duties on platforms.
The Lucy Connolly case illustrates the tension: In 2024, amid Southport stabbings and riots (sparked by false rumours), she posted on comments on X calling for "mass deportation." Viewed 310,000 times before deletion, she pleaded guilty to stirring racial hatred, receiving a 31-month sentence (served ~9 months, released August 2025 on licence with restrictions). Critics called it disproportionate — harsher than some rioters — while supporters saw it as necessary deterrence.
Even as NCHIs fade, such prosecutions show the state retains tools for "pre-emptive" action against inflammatory online speech, especially amid migration tensions or community friction.
Broader Implications: A Tactical Retreat in a Strategic Advance?
The NCHI rollback is welcome relief for free expression — police chiefs themselves admit the system diverted from real crime-fighting. But it may be tactical: Shifting to "common sense" recording of serious risks could refine, not eliminate, monitoring. With Online Safety Act enforcement ramping up, digital speech faces tighter scrutiny — platforms self-censor to avoid fines, potentially creating a de facto chilling effect.
In 2026 Britain, the fight for free speech isn't over. The retreat on NCHIs offers breathing room, but the leap forward looms in algorithmic moderation, hate crime expansions, and pre-crime logic.The thought police aren't disbanding — they're just rebranding.
https://nationfirst.substack.com/p/uk-retreats-on-hate-speech-as-free