Interesting disturbing post from the Morning Star cartoonist.
Written evidence from Mrs Stella Perrett (FOE0001)
Dear Sir/Madam
I am a self-employed artist.
Your call for evidence is about freedom of expression referencing 'Hate Speech' and how it is dealt with.
I have had a 'Non-Crime-Hate-Incident' (NCHI) recorded against me by Avon & Somerset Police, in response to a complaint someone made about a cartoon by me which was published by the Morning Star newspaper in February 2020.
This directly references your committee, because my own freedom of expression as an artist, more to the point, as a political cartoonist, and my outlet's freedom of expression in publishing my cartoon, was considered like 'Hate speech' by someone who contacted the police about it.
This complaint, (alongside other pressure - union and social media coercion of the newspaper) led them to cancel my 5-year association with them as their regular political cartoonist, with no commuication, and no right of reply.
My name was trashed, and my reputation attacked , on social media around the world, and someone in my union at work instigated an investigation into me, with the aim of getting me thrown out of the union.
As a result, and because of the stress, which was excaberating other trauma in my life (I am a carer for my husband) I made the difficult choice to retire early from the civil service, partly in order not to drag my union work colleagues into the furore, and have their reputations attacked in public as well.
A further example of how I am unable to 'clear my name' over this – which bizarrely, I would have that chance, if these NCHIs were treated formally, the same as 'Hate Speech' in the criminal courts : was in August, when the editor of the annual “Britain's Best Political Cartoons 2020” wanted to include me in his anthology, he was not allowed to by Penguin book's lawyers.
The police did not inform me of the complaint against my cartoon in the Morning Star.
Please note that the NCHI is against ME, as the ARTIST, NOT against the newspaper, whose editorial decision it was to publish. In other words, a direct attack on my personal freedom of expression in the journalistic world.
I knew nothing about it, until July 2020, when the Mail on Sunday, in the course of writing about me for their article on Cancel Culture, contacted the Avon & Somerset Police to enquire if there had been such a complaint. The desk duty officer confirmed to reporter Nick Craven that there had been such a complaint but that no action had at that point been taken.