Thought Police Arrest Islam Critic Who Warned About Anti-Semitism
- Philip James
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Shadowy police intelligence unit arrest retired police officer over social media post.
A 71-year-old retired special constable has been left shaken and humiliated after being arrested and detained over a social media post warning about the threat of anti-Semitism in Britain. Julian Foulkes, who served Kent Police for a decade, was handcuffed at his Gillingham home by six officers from the same force he once worked for, following a brief online exchange challenging a pro-Palestinian supporter on X (formerly Twitter).
The arrest, which has been described by critics as a “thought crime” crackdown, is now the subject of public scrutiny and political condemnation. Mr. Foulkes had responded to a post by a Muslim supposedly outraged at being labelled antisemitic by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Mr Foulkes simply commented to the ranting Muslim “One step away from storming Heathrow looking for Jewish arrivals…" A reference to violent scenes from Dagestan, Russia, where a mob hunted for Jewish passengers at an airport for being.. Jewish.
While he admits the message might have benefited from additional context, he maintains the post was clearly a warning about the dangers of growing antisemitism—not an endorsement of hate. “It should have been obvious that I was warning against hate, not spreading it,” Foulkes said. It should be noted at this point that Mr Foulkes had committed no crime, not even the made-up ones so beloved by the left.
The tweet that got Mr Foulkes arrested by a shadowy police unit who appear to be protecting Islam from criticism online.
On November 1, 2023, his post was flagged by the Metropolitan Police’s Intelligence Command—not the public—and referred to Kent Police. The next day, six officers arrived at his home, armed with batons and pepper spray. He was arrested under suspicion of violating the Malicious Communications Act.
Body-worn camera footage reveals the surreal nature of the search. Officers combed through his personal belongings, including his wife’s shopping list, which contained bleach, tin foil, and gloves—raising what they called suspicious concerns. They also scrutinised his bookshelves, commenting on what they described as “very Brexity things,” including works by conservative authors like Douglas Murray and publications such as The Spectator.
Foulkes, who lost his daughter Francesca in a tragic hit-and-run 15 years ago, was stunned as officers pawed through newspaper clippings of the investigation and funeral. “It was deeply personal,” he said. “They went through everything—my loft, garage, even my wife’s underwear drawer.”
He was held in a cell for eight hours, fingerprinted, DNA-swabbed, and interrogated. Despite repeatedly denying any intent to cause harm or alarm, police pressed forward. Ultimately, he was issued a formal caution, which he accepted out of fear it could escalate and jeopardise his ability to visit his surviving daughter in Australia.
It wasn’t until this week—months later—that Kent Police admitted the caution was wrongly issued and removed it from his record. A spokesperson stated: “Kent Police expunged the caution from the man’s record and was pleased to facilitate this correction,” adding that a review is now underway.
Perhaps most troubling is the opaque manner in which this incident was escalated. Foulkes’ tweet had only 26 views and was not reported by the public. Questioned are being asked why Metropolitan Police’s specialist Intelligence Command, supposedly formed to stop terrorism is trawling social media for anti-Islam posts by members of the British public.
“This whole thing has been surreal,” Foulkes reflected. “Ten years I gave them. We were drilled on the need to justify force. And they arrested me on my doorstep for a tweet warning about antisemitism.”
Related:
