Leicestershire Police apology after criticism over hate crime tweet

Home Secretary Suella Braverman highlighted the tweet before Leicestershire Police removed it

Police have apologised after using a stock image and fictitious quote on a tweet aimed at encouraging transgender people to report hate crime.

Leicestershire Police deleted the tweet after it was highlighted by Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

The tweet featured an image of a person and a quote by "Jane, 57 - Hinckley", which referred to people deliberately calling her by her previous name.

Ms Braverman said forces were confused over "what constitutes a 'hate crime'."

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) a hate crime is an offence targeting a victim's race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.

The Leicestershire Police tweet used a stock image and fictitious quote, the force admitted

The Leicester Police Stay Safe Twitter account, from which the tweet was issued, had posted about other types of hate crime, including racism and homophobia, during National Hate Crime Awareness Week.

In a statement on the force website, Temporary Chief Constable Rob Nixon said other tweets from the account had been deleted.

He said the photographs used were stock images and the text had been "provided by an experienced police staff member".

The force should have made clear they were stock images and "the names given were fictitious for illustration purposes", he said.

He added the force would be "reviewing how we use stock images and raise awareness of hate crime going forward".

In reference to the now deleted tweet, Ms Braverman said: "The police need to enforce actual laws & fight actual crimes. Freedom of speech must be protected and a proportionate approach must be taken."

She added forces "have to explain to me why they're spending vital resources on politically correct campaigns".

Mr Nixon said: "While we recognise that people have strong and often conflicting views regarding this issue, we should not forget the seriousness of hate crime and the devastating crimes that as a country we have seen in the past which have happened as a result of hate crime."