The Catholic journalist at the centre of a "misgendering" row with a trans charity has warned of "Orwellian times" after a man was questioned by police for a second time for retweeting a limerick about transgender people.
Harry Miller, 53, from Lincoln, was first contacted by police in January after retweeting a limerick that questioned whether transgender women are biological women and included the lines: "Your breasts are made of silicone, your vagina goes nowhere."
At the time, the investigating officer told him that no hate crime had been committed but his retweeting of the limerick would be recorded as a "hate incident".
Mr Miller, who tweets as 'Harry the Owl', said in an update on Twitter this week that he had been left "fuming" after an inspector from Humberside Police allegedly told him "not to engage in political debate on Twitter because some people don't like the content".
In a series of Twitter posts, Mr Miller said the inspector had told him that he had "every right to be involved in politics" but asked him, "why would you tweet your views when it upsets the trans community?"
The inspector then clarified, 'I'm just asking why you feel the need to engage in hate."
I am stunned, shocked, upset, aghast and fuming.Just had Inspector Wilson from @Humberbeat call me re my complaint.
— Harry The Owl - Limerick Criminal (@HarryTheOwl) March 26, 2019 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Mr Miller said he had received the call after he complained to the police about their handling of the original complaint made against him into the limerick.
"I am devastated," he said, following the call.
Humberside Police responded to his comments in a statement to Hull Daily Mail in which it said there was "never any suggestion" he shouldn't engage in politics.
"There was never any suggestion he shouldn't engage in politics or debate around the subject in question, he was just asked why he would want to, knowing it would cause distress and upset to others in society," a spokeswoman for Humberside Police said.
"The complainant was also advised if he felt his Human Rights had been breached, he may want to seek legal advice."
Caroline Farrow, the Catholic journalist who made headlines last week after being spoken to by police about an alleged "misgendering" tweet, said the incident was "incredible".
"A police inspector is ringing up a man telling him that he ought not express his opinion because others may find it upsetting! Truly Orwellian times we live in," she said on Twitter.
Mrs Farrow is not alone in her concern. Baroness Jenny Jones, a Green Party member in the House of Lords, said the police call to Mr Miller was "astonishing".
"This is astonishing @Humberbeat You seriously have the time and resources to get an Inspector to call someone on this issue? Can you explain to us all?" she said on Twitter.
James Kirkup, director of the Social Market Foundation think tank, said the real point was the "potential chilling effect it has on the legal expression of opinion".
"Is it the job of the police to prevent 'distress and upset'?" he tweeted.
"@HarryTheOwl has the wherewithal to resist/push back. But not everyone does: for a lot of people, a formal call from the police is unnerving, even (unintentionally) intimidating."
