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Nothing to see here: police back down over Palace banner

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As the old saying goes, tweet in haste, repent at your leisure.

Banner game: the police were criticised for their response  to the fans’ very accurate protest

Croydon’s police are certainly repenting that tweet they sent out on Saturday evening after Crystal Palace’s match against Saudi-owned Newcastle United, following a backlash from fans who reminded the boys in blue about freedoms of speech and what is, and what is definitely not, racist.

Inside Croydon reported yesterday how the Met Police had tweeted that it had received a complaint about a protest banner at the Holmesdale End and was investigating. There was more than a suspicion of virtue-signalling going on, as the constabulary seek to demonstrate that they are taking hate crime seriously – but this time, they picked the wrong target.

Yesterday – nearly 48 hours after the police’s ill-advised tweet – the Met’s finest were stood down, having accepted that there was nothing to investigate. It was a view shared even by a local Tory MP and former Home Office junior minister.

Nothing to see here: Tory MP Philp belatedly jumped on the Palace fans’ bandwagon

Using the same social media platform, Croydon police issued an update: “On Saturday, a member of the public contacted us to raise concerns about a banner displayed at the Crystal Palace vs Newcastle match at Selhurst Park.

“Following an assessment, officers have concluded that no offences have been committed. No further action will be taken.”

Chris Philp, the Conservative MP for Croydon South, this morning responded to the police’s announcement. “This is the right conclusion. I’m not sure this needed an investigation to establish though,” he wrote.

Perhaps Philp could recommend that those officers responsible for even considering investigating the banner should be charged with… wasting police time?


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