Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones has expressed concerns over “the proportionality and necessity of the police’s response” in the arrest of two men over a social media post.

PCC Jones said “something is wrong” when “incidents on social media receive not one but two visits from police officers, but burglaries and non-domestic break-ins don’t always get a police response”.

Two men, aged 51 and 57, were arrested from Aldershot on Thursday evening.

Reclaim Party's founder and actor Laurence Fox had shared a live video on Twitter showing the police proceedings.

Mr Fox is seen filming the police proceedings and speaking to police as the two persons were taken into custody.

READ MORE: Laurence Fox tweets video of his party member confronted by police

The 51-year-old man from Aldershot was arrested on suspicion of sending by public communication network an offensive, indecent, obscene, menacing message or matter.

He was later released under investigation and now has been NFAd (no further action).

The 57-year-old man from Market Rasen, Lincs, was arrested on suspicion of obstructing/resisting a constable in execution of duty.

Police said he was released under investigation, and their enquiries are ongoing.

Reacting to the arrest, PCC Jones said she would be writing to the College of Policing to make them aware of this incident.

She said: “As Police Commissioner, I am committed to ensuring Hampshire Constabulary serves the public as the majority of people would expect. It appears on this occasion this has not happened.

“This incident has highlighted a really topical issue which Hampshire Constabulary and other police forces need to learn from. In order to support this I will be writing to the College of Policing to make them aware of this incident and encourage greater clarification on the guidance in order to ensure that police forces can respond more appropriately in the future.”

She also added that she has taken the issue up with the Constabulary and have been advised that officers made the arrests following a complaint from a member of the public of an alleged hate crime.

She said: “It follows a post on social media of Progress Pride flags in the shape of a Swastika.”

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “Officers were making enquiries following a report that an offensive image had been shared online. They were investigating an alleged offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act (2003). As such, they attended an address in Aldershot in order to establish the exact circumstances around the social media post.

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“Following discussions, officers agreed to return to the address on July 28. When officers arrived they were prevented from entering the address to discuss a potential resolution to the matter. As a result, officers felt it was necessary to arrest a man at the scene so they could interview him in relation to the alleged offence.

“It is important to say that our officers come to work every day to protect the public. They were acting in good faith after being deployed to investigate the report of an offensive image being shared online. Policing reports in relation to online content is a complex and challenging picture. We are engaging further with our Police and Crime Commissioner to make sure that we deploy our resource in a way that reflects need in our local communities.”

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