The police have gone full Orwell: The recording of ‘non-crime hate incidents’ has got to stop.

The evil of the term is two-fold. Firstly, the word ‘hate’ reminds us that the state reserves the right to legally classify certain emotions as criminal. So-called hate crimes carry longer sentences, based on the identity of the victim and the prejudices of the perpetrator.

Secondly, the ‘non-crime’ aspect shows that the police find the already overarching powers afforded by hate-crime laws to be inadequate. So much so that they have in recent years begun recording complaints about perceived ‘hate’, even when a crime has not been committed and there is no evidence to support the claim.

This was the unfortunate fate of a 63-year-old electrician from Kent, after he dealt with a rude customer. In 2019, Kevin Mills had a cup of hot tea thrown at him after an argument over the cost of installing a bathroom mirror. He requested money for additional materials and, when a blazing row ensued, Mills left the house saying ‘I won’t work for someone like you’, or words to that effect.

Mills reported the assault to the police, who later told him there would be no further action. Two years later, Mills discovered that an NCHI had been logged against his name. The police record said that Mills had committed a racial hate incident by using the phrase ‘someone like you’. He says he was referring to the customer’s aggressive manner, not her ethnicity.

This week, Mills finally had his NCHI removed from his record by Kent Police, thanks to the efforts of the Free Speech Union. But while any individual victory like this is welcome, speech will not be truly free in the UK until NCHIs are abolished along with our censorious laws.