A Kent man wrongly arrested over a social media post warning has received £20,000 ($27,000) in compensation, after police conceded their handling of the incident was inappropriate and unlawful.
Julian Foulkes, a 71-year-old retired special constable from Gillingham, was detained at home last November by six officers carrying batons and pepper spray. The arrest followed his reply on X to a pro-Palestinian activist threatening legal action against then-home secretary Suella Braverman for describing London demonstrations as “hate marches.”
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Foulkes was arrested for alleged malicious communications, locked in a police cell for eight hours, and interrogated. Although no criminal act had taken place, he accepted a caution under duress, worried that refusing it might jeopardize international travel plans to visit family in Australia. That caution has now been officially removed from his record.
Earlier this month, Kent Police acknowledged that the caution was issued in error. Chief Constable Tim Smith called Foulkes personally to apologize, referring to the arrest as an “ordeal.” A follow-up letter from the force to Foulkes’s solicitors confirmed a settlement agreement and reiterated regret over the incident.
The letter, sent by the force’s legal representative, stated: “I am instructed to accept the offer of early resolution without recourse to litigation by payment of compensation in the sum of £20,000 ($27,000) plus your client’s reasonable legal fees in full and final settlement of all prospective claims arising from his arrest on Nov 2, 2023.”
Kent Police has now referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The Free Speech Union (FSU), which supported Foulkes throughout the legal process, condemned the incident as a fundamental breach of civil liberties. Dr. Bryn Harris, the group’s chief legal counsel, said: “The [FSU] is pleased to see that Kent Police has done the right thing and apologized to Julian, with due compensation. This is, however, merely the end of the beginning – we now need to see a full and credible investigation into the outrageous violations of Julian’s basic freedoms.”
He added that the case underlined the need for law enforcement to respect the principles of democratic policing: “Kent Police must ensure that the distress to Julian, and the cost to the taxpayer, result in lessons learnt and a realization that policing by consent requires a police service worthy of the consent of free citizens.”
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