Police should stop policing social media and focus on catching criminals, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Tory leader spoke out after a couple were detained by police in Hertfordshire over messages they had posted on a WhatsApp group about their local school.
Maxie Allen and his partner Rosalind Levine, from Borehamwood, told The Times they were held for 11 hours on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications, and causing a nuisance on school property.
A police force is now carrying out a "rapid and thorough review" over complaints they made about their daughter's primary school, which included comments on WhatsApp.
Badenoch told GB News: "What I want to see the police doing is catching criminals, the burglars, the people who are stabbing everyone. You know, the ones who are committing sexual assaults.
"Let's get those people in the prisons, not the people who are sending nasty WhatsApps. We need to stop all this nonsense. It is time to bring back common sense to policing and to our justice system."
In the interview with GB News' political editor Christopher Hope, Badenoch criticised the Prime Minister for hosting a round table event at 10 Downing Street to discuss issues raised by Netflix's series Adolescence.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
She said: "He's watching Netflix and having roundtables about a Netflix documentary. It's a gimmick. He thinks that he's going to touch the people of this country or they're all watching Netflix.
"No, he needs to talk about what's happening in their lives right now. That's the bills that are going up.
"The jobs tax is going to kill jobs, lower wages, and let's get phones out of schools as well because it's distracting our young people."
Badenoch also said that Britons should "talk more about Easter".
She said: "We are a Christian country. I firmly believe that. I come from a Christian background. My grandfather was a reverend in the Methodist church.
"I grew up in a Christian household, and I love Easter. You know, it comes with spring and the sunshine comes in. So we have freedom of religion in this country.
"We should make sure that people are free to celebrate their religion, not impose it on other people. Whatever the religion. Let's not impose it. But yeah, let's talk more about Easter. Why not?"
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The Tory leader spoke out after a couple were detained by police in Hertfordshire over messages they had posted on a WhatsApp group about their local school.
Maxie Allen and his partner Rosalind Levine, from Borehamwood, told The Times they were held for 11 hours on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications, and causing a nuisance on school property.
A police force is now carrying out a "rapid and thorough review" over complaints they made about their daughter's primary school, which included comments on WhatsApp.
Badenoch told GB News: "What I want to see the police doing is catching criminals, the burglars, the people who are stabbing everyone. You know, the ones who are committing sexual assaults.
"Let's get those people in the prisons, not the people who are sending nasty WhatsApps. We need to stop all this nonsense. It is time to bring back common sense to policing and to our justice system."
In the interview with GB News' political editor Christopher Hope, Badenoch criticised the Prime Minister for hosting a round table event at 10 Downing Street to discuss issues raised by Netflix's series Adolescence.
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She said: "He's watching Netflix and having roundtables about a Netflix documentary. It's a gimmick. He thinks that he's going to touch the people of this country or they're all watching Netflix.
"No, he needs to talk about what's happening in their lives right now. That's the bills that are going up.
"The jobs tax is going to kill jobs, lower wages, and let's get phones out of schools as well because it's distracting our young people."
Badenoch also said that Britons should "talk more about Easter".
She said: "We are a Christian country. I firmly believe that. I come from a Christian background. My grandfather was a reverend in the Methodist church.
"I grew up in a Christian household, and I love Easter. You know, it comes with spring and the sunshine comes in. So we have freedom of religion in this country.
"We should make sure that people are free to celebrate their religion, not impose it on other people. Whatever the religion. Let's not impose it. But yeah, let's talk more about Easter. Why not?"
Find Out More...