Chief Constable rejects accusations of 'two-tier' policing made by Nigel Farage and Elon Musk

Chief Constable Stephen Watson has rejected accusations of 'two-tier' policing, saying: "We differentiate between the vast majority of the public who are law-abiding and criminals."

Right wing activists like Tommy Robinson and Reform leader Nigel Farage, as well as billionaire businessman Elon Musk, have repeatedly suggested UK police have been softer on people on the left of the political spectrum compared to those on the right.

Musk has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer on his social media platform, X, while Clacton MP Farage has said 'ever since the soft policing of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, the impression of two-tier policing has become widespread'.

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The allegation gained momentum following the protests and counter demonstrations which took place across the country following the deadly flare-up of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October.

It has resurfaced following the fatal stabbing of three children in Southport. Bebe King, six, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were stabbed to death, prompting violent protests in the seaside town and across the country amid false reports the suspect was an asylum seeker who had come to the UK in a small boat.

In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: "There's this sense that police are hard on some communities and soft on other communities. I reject that. We differentiate between the vast majority of the public who are law-abiding and criminals.

"And what we are seeing is straight-forward criminality and we don't put up