An Arrest Was Made Over A Blog Post

A police force that paid £20,000 compensation to a couple arrested over a school WhatsApp group is being sued by a company director who was thrown in a cell over a blog post.

Following accusations from two Facebook group members, a dozen Hertfordshire cops showed up at the residence of IT supervisor Sam Smith.

Mr Smith’s house was searched on March 8 last year, his devices were taken, and he spent a night in a cell at Hatfield police station.

Detectives dropped the case six days later, noting in the police log that the search was not ‘suitable or lawful.’

Mr Smith, 47, is now suing the force through the High Court for £70,000 for damages and personal injury, claiming the stress of the arrest had caused a recurrence of an eye condition.

The case follows the same force’s payment of £20,000 to a couple who were unlawfully arrested after making complaints about their daughter’s school on a WhatsApp group chat.

Herts police sent six officers to the home of Rosalind Levine and Maxie Allen last January. They held the couple for 11 hours on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications, before eventually apologising for doing so.

Mr Smith writes a blog as Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General, named after a real historical figure of the same name who hunted women he accused of being witches in the 1600s.

He published a piece to dispel incorrect information about a lady at a nearby park who had been photographed and challenged after being wrongly suspected of being a paedophile due to internet posts.

He called two guys who misrepresented the lady on his site an extremist and a drug user.

‘What happened to this lady in the park had the potential to be a very serious incident as the online posts escalated,’ Mr Smith said.

‘I wrote two articles about this situation, but it was only after I called out the police and specifically the local inspector for failing to act that they decided to come for me.’

Mr Smith said 12 officers then turned up at his home and told him he was under arrest for sending false communications.

Body-worn footage of the arrest shows the IT firm director, who answered the door in his dressing gown, visibly shaking during the encounter.

Though he was told he was under arrest over false communications, which is a low summary offence, the search of Mr Smith’s home was incorrectly carried out for more severe malicious communications infractions.

A stack of undelivered Conservative Party leaflets was also taken by the officers, who wrongly accused Mr Smith of robbing the post.

Mr Smith’s case revolves around claims the force failed to properly investigate his complaint about the wrongful arrest, which is backed up by findings made by Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Jonathan Ash-Edwards.

The PCC’s complaints team leader, Carolyn Kitchen, called on the force to assess again whether there were ‘good objective grounds’ for the arrest.

In a letter to Smith, she said officers should have considered whether a voluntary interview could have been conducted instead of an arrest.

At a hearing before Master Irena Sabic at the Royal Courts of Justice next month, Mr Smith is requesting a summary judgment.

He told the Mail: ‘So far Herts Police have failed to settle the case and ignored the recommendations of their own PCC in defiance of best practice and reason. It is a waste of public money and damages public confidence.’

A 2024 report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found that Herts Police needed improvement in its investigation of criminality and in its leadership and management, and was deficient in its recording of offences.

A spokesman from the force said: ‘We can confirm Mr Smith has issued civil proceedings for a civil claim against Hertfordshire Constabulary. At this time, we do not feel it is appropriate to provide commentary on this case.’

A spokesman from the PCC’s office said: ‘Following the outcome of the Professional Standards Department investigation, Mr Smith exercised his statutory right to have his complaint outcome reviewed by the PCC. This review identified six recommendations. The Professional Standards Department has accepted the majority of these recommendations and are currently acting on them.

‘Mr Smith was updated in February 2026, and the matter remains live while the Professional Standards Department act on the recommendations from the PCC’s Office.’

Mr Smith last week received an interim damages payment from the force of £2,000.

Whoever is in charge of this police force needs to be removed – they are obviously not up to the job, and any damages that are paid should come from them, not the taxpayer. Let’s hope I don’t get a knock on the door for stating the obvious.

However, this starts with our government because our police force is just following government-mandated guidelines.

It took twelve police officers to arrest this man – what a joke. He should have been asked to come to the police station for questioning, and I hope this man wins his case.

Robberies, break-ins, and, God forbid, murder are serious crimes that the police should be investigating, but they don’t appear to be prioritising them.

It’s extremely chilling to see what Britain has become, and at the same time, some people are being given top jobs who have had scandal after scandal to their name.