Police stress Tory get together over member wrongly accused of hate crime

A police force was last night accused of ‘trampling’ over democracy after detectives allegedly put pressure on a local Tory party to unseat a colleague wrongly accused of a hate crime.

Anthony Stevens, a Conservative councillor in Northamptonshire, was arrested last year after posting an image from a video – first revealed by The Mail on Sunday – of a Christian preacher having his bible wrested off him by police in the street.

The father of two was held for nine hours, during which he was also quizzed about his online support of another politician who criticised gay pride events. Mr Stevens, 51, a member of Wellingborough Town Council, was released and later told that no further action would be taken against him.

But the MoS can now reveal that days before Mr Stevens was arrested, a Northamptonshire Police detective phoned Jonathan Ekins, a former local Tory mayor for Wellingborough, and allegedly told him Mr Stevens should be ‘removed’ as a councillor because of his views.

In a statement to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, Mr Ekins said Detective Constable Amelia Thompson told him Mr Stevens was about to be arrested ‘for a serious offence’. 

Anthony Stevens, a Conservative councillor in Northamptonshire, was arrested last year after posting an image from a video – first revealed by The Mail on Sunday – of a Christian preacher having his bible wrested off him by police in the street

Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre, who is representing Mr Stevens, said: ‘What happened undermined and trampled on our law, democracy and freedoms on every level’

‘She said in their opinion the police felt that he was not a fit person to be a councillor,’ he said. ‘DC Thompson said Anthony Stevens should be removed from being a councillor.’

It is claimed that in a later call, DC Thompson told him police had learnt Mr Stevens had attended a meeting at the same time as a Labour councillor thought to have complained about his tweets.

This, she said, was a breach of his bail conditions and she warned him officers would arrest Mr Stevens ‘on the spot’ if he turned up at another meeting attended by the Labour councillor. 

Mr Ekins said: ‘My response was, rightly, to remind DC Thompson that she would be welcome to try but that, as chair of the committee, I have the right to … instruct security officials to remove the police for public disruption of a democratically constituted meeting.’ The row has prompted accusations of political interference by police.

Andrea Williams, of the Christian Legal Centre, who is representing Mr Stevens, said: ‘What happened undermined and trampled on our law, democracy and freedoms on every level.’

Mr Stevens, a property developer, was arrested last August and quizzed about tweets from his account, which had 76 followers. One involved a video showing how police had treated Christian preacher Oluwole Ilesanmi (pictured) in Southgate, North London, in 2019

Mr Stevens, a father of two, was held for nine hours, during which he was also quizzed about his online support of another politician who criticised gay pride events

Mr Stevens, a property developer, was arrested last August and quizzed about tweets from his account, which had 76 followers.

One involved a video showing how police had treated Christian preacher Oluwole Ilesanmi in Southgate, North London, in 2019.

An officer snatched Mr Ilesanmi’s bible after the preacher was accused of being Islamophobic. Mr Stevens was also quizzed about tweeting support for councillor King Lawal, suspended by his Tory group after he responded to images of Pride parades by writing: ‘Pride is not a virtue but a sin.’ 

A third tweet shared by Mr Stevens, and raised by police, involved a clip of a man burning a copy of the Koran with the suggestion he should be free to do so.

The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case four months later but he remains suspended by the Tory party. Last night Mr Stevens said: ‘I don’t think people realise what it’s like to be taken from your house at 8am in front of your wife and kids, held in a police station and called a racist.’

The MoS understands his IOPC complaint was referred to Northamptonshire Police’s Professional Standards Department. The force said: ‘This investigation is subject to a live complaint… we are unable to comment further.’