Birmingham political activist Femi Oluwole has accused West Midlands Police of "clear bias" after officers dismissed his complaint about a threatening social media post while warning him his own comments were "borderline a criminal offence".
Oluwole, 36, reported an X post by political commentator Nick Buckley MBE calling him a "poster boy for mass deportation and remigration". He argued this constituted a threat against a black British citizen.
Police response to complaint
However, police told him they "don't get involved with political tweets" and instead focused on Oluwole's own post criticising Reform UK politicians. A supervising officer warned: "If you utter those words again, we will have a problem, because you are borderline committing malicious communications, harassment, and various other things."
Oluwole lodged a formal complaint with the force's Professional Standards Department. West Midlands Police defended their decision not to record Buckley's post as a crime, citing freedom of expression guidelines.
Force acknowledges shortcomings
The force acknowledged officers should have provided better explanations and said both would receive feedback. However, the Police and Crime Commissioner's office concluded the complaint was handled in a "reasonable and proportionate manner".
Speaking to BirminghamLive, Oluwole said: "The fact that they were willing to categorically say what he (Buckley) did was free speech, but they would accuse me of committing a borderline offence shows a clear bias."
