A police chief has criticised the decision to arrest two parents over a school WhatsApp group chat, but officers warned a councillor she could be next if she continued helping them.
Times Radio producer Maxie Allen, 50 and his partner Rosalind Levine, 46, were arrested on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications after a ‘trivial’ dispute.
CCTV footage showed six uniformed police officers descending on their suburban home before they were led away in front of their crying daughter.
And after a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary finally concluded there was no case to answer.
In the aftermath of the fiasco, the force’s Police & Crime Commissioner, Jonathan Ash-Edwards, said it ‘shouldn’t have become a police matter’ as he took aim at the decision which has caused public uproar.
He said: ‘While people should be courteous and go through the proper channels when raising concerns about a public service, the public should be able to express their views without worrying they’ll get a knock at the door from the police.’
The comments from Mr Ash-Edwards come amid a new revelation that a councillor was warned she could face the same fate if she continued helping the parents who had issue with the teacher recruitment process at their daughter’s primary school.
Michelle Vince, who is a member of Hertfordshire County Council, had been in discussions with Mr Allen and Ms Levine over their concerns about Cowley Hill Primary School recruiting a new headteacher.
Police chief Jonathan Ash-Edwards said Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine’s arrests ‘shouldn’t have become a police matter’ as he took aim at the decision which has caused public uproar
CCTV shows six uniformed police officers descending on their suburban home before they were led away in front of their crying daughter
Councillor Michelle Vince was warned she could face the same fate if she continued helping the parents who had issue with the teacher recruitment process at their daughter’s primary school
And she has now revealed that cops told her she risked becoming a suspect in their investigations after the school reported the family to police.
In the latest twist, Ms Vince revealed an email to The Times which had been sent to her from a Hertfordshire Police officer in December 2024, warning her to back off.
It read: ‘I ask that your communication (with the school) ceases from this point onwards as you may find yourself liable to being recorded as a suspect in a harassment investigation.’
The email from the officer continued to say that because the headteacher vacancy had been filled, that she had ‘no further reason’ to continue speaking with the parents about the matter.
Ms Vince said the police’s involvement threatened ‘taking away democratic rights’ from elected representatives and that she has since installed a security camera at her home in fears of being raided too.
She added: ‘I’m terrified now that they’re going to come for me and knock on my door at any time. Maxie and Ros did nothing wrong. They only dared to ask the question of the school and that was enough to have them arrested.’
Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine with their daughters, Sascha, nine, and Francesca
After a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary finally concluded there was no case to answer
Mr Ash-Edwards said he has spoken with the newly appointed Hertfordshire Chief Constable, Andy Prophet, about a review of the incident and that its findings would be discussed next Tuesday, April 1.
The arrests have not only sparked fears over police powers and freedom of expression in Britain after the parents were locked in a police cell for eleven hours, but of the use of police resources too.
Factoring in police salaries, the raid would have cost at least £1,000 of taxpayer money.
Mr Allen, said he was ‘in complete disbelief’ when the police turned up at his door before arresting him, and branded the police action ‘dystopian’.
‘I was just in complete disbelief,’ he said.
‘It was just unfathomable to me that things had escalated to this degree.
‘It was absolutely nightmarish. I couldn’t believe this was happening, that a public authority could use the police to close down a legitimate inquiry.
‘We’d never used abusive or threatening language, even in private, and always followed due process. Yet we have never even been told what these communications were that were supposedly criminal, which is completely Kafkaesque.’
