Ex-police officer takes Shabana Mahmood to court after being logged as a stalker over tweets

The case centres on the recording of a serious offence of stalking, which they officially flagged as a "hate crime" on their internal systems.

Although Mr Miller was not charged, tried or found guilty of any offence, his legal team argue the recording matters because it has given him a criminal record which can reduce his chance of getting jobs, especially those in safeguarding and security.

Critics warn this can prejudice future job applications, even where no crime has been proven in court.

According to the legal challenge, the offence was recorded without any investigation, without Mr Miller being told at the time, and without giving him the chance to defend himself.

The alleged “stalking” was related to four tweets posted by Mr Miller in 2023 and 2024, where he referred to online harassment that he says was directed at him and his family by Lynsay Watson, a former police officer and trans woman.

The court documents say Ms Watson stalked and harassed Mr Miller for many years and was sacked from the police force for gross misconduct as a result.

Lynsay Watson was dismissed from the police force in 2023 after a disciplinary panel found she had engaged in sustained abusive online conduct while serving as an officer, amounting to gross misconduct and dishonesty.

The disciplinary panel described Ms Watson’s case as a “high culpability case”, meaning her conduct was judged to be serious and deliberate.

After Lynsay Watson complained Mr Miller’s tweets were “malicious”, Lincolnshire Police asked him to attend a voluntary interview. He did so, explained his position, and then heard nothing further.

Almost a year later, he discovered the stalking hate crime had been recorded against him.

Mr Miller said: “Home office crime recording rules, as they currently stand, mandate police officers to dismiss objective evidence in favour of a perception of hurt feelings. Everyone is therefore at risk of being criminalised by both the local police force and the State. This is an assault on common sense, and on the established rules of evidence. It gives the police a government licence to bypass even the most elementary burden of proof, and to criminally pursue and record entirely innocent individuals.”

He added: “With this court action, we aim to put right this blindingly obvious wrong on behalf of all who fall within the scope of British jurisprudence.”

James Gardner, partner at Conrathe Gardner LLP, acting for Mr Miller, said, “These crime recording rules have a chilling effect on free speech. This travesty is a vivid illustration of what happens to innocent people when the police record a hate crime without giving the accused a chance to respond.

"Harry Miller was stalked and harassed for years by Lynsay Watson. Something is very badly wrong when Harry now finds himself with a criminal record just because the police didn’t question Watson’s credibility or give Harry a chance to defend himself.”

Lincolnshire Police declined to comment.

GB News has approached the Home Office for comment.

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