The WhatsApp messages shared in a school group chat that led to the arrest of a set of parents have been revealed.
Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine were arrested in front of their daughter and put in a cell for eight hours after they complained about their eldest child’s school in Hertfordshire.
They were reportedly questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property at Cowley Hill Primary School.
After a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary concluded there was no case to answer.
The couple's arrest on January 29 reportedly followed a complaint from the school about Allen and his partner sending multiple emails and making “disparaging” remarks in a parents' WhatsApp group.
In the messages, seen by MailOnline, the couple complained about the headteacher appointment process, led by Jackie Spriggs - the chairman of governors.
After the parents were sent a letter warning them from discussing the process, Levine said “they [Spriggs] think they have a right to control everyone” and said that people can “discuss anything they like”.
She jokingly said that the school could take them to High Court for defamation if they found the money, unaware of how serious the matter would be.
She wrote in the WhatsApp group: “Can you imagine what the 'action' is? Hello, 999, one of the school mums said something mean about me in a school mum WhatsApp group. Please can you arrest them?”
Allen wrote: “No public body has the power to control what people say about it”, with the sentiment supported by other parents.
Levine said Sprigs has “little spies in WhatsApp and Facebook groups” to feed her information, saying they need to “get a life”.
Expressing their “shock and anger” at the arrests, friends of the couple said that they are “both lovely” and the reaction to their messages were “hysterical”.
One mum, who was in the WhatsApp group, said: “I was utterly shocked when I heard that Maxie and Ros had been arrested – it was a hysterical reaction to the situation and I simply couldn't believe it.
“I've known Ros for six years and she's the nicest person I know. They are both lovely, reasonable people, and for anyone thinking there must be more to this – there really isn't.
“There was nothing in those WhatsApp messages to take offence at – last time I checked, people are allowed to voice their concerns and criticisms without being arrested in this country.”
Allen, a producer at Times Radio, accused the school of trying to silence them, whilst branding the arrests as “dystopian”.
The producer called the ordeal “nightmarish”, adding: “We’d never used abusive or threatening language, even in private, and always followed due process.”
“Yet we have never even been told what these communications were that were supposedly criminal, which is completely Kafkaesque.”
The situation began in May 2024 when the father wrote to the school governors asking why - since the previous head teacher had announced his retirement six months prior - a recruitment process had not begun.
The next month, the chair of the school governors, Jackie Spriggs, allegedly sent parents a message saying that the school would take action against anyone who caused “disharmony”.
Soon after the comments made in the group, the school reportedly banned the couple from visiting the grounds, saying they could only communicate via email.
The couple repeatedly emailed the school asking them to lift the ban, though the school soon thought the number of messages was becoming excessive, and asked the police to step in.
In December, a police officer issued the parents with a warning and apparently told them to take their daughter out of school - which they did the following month.
A week later, officers turned up to arrest the pair.
A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said: “The arrests were necessary to fully investigate the allegations as is routine in these types of matters.
“Following further investigations, officers deemed that no further action should be taken due to insufficient evidence.”
Find Out More...
Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine were arrested in front of their daughter and put in a cell for eight hours after they complained about their eldest child’s school in Hertfordshire.
They were reportedly questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications and causing a nuisance on school property at Cowley Hill Primary School.
After a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary concluded there was no case to answer.
The couple's arrest on January 29 reportedly followed a complaint from the school about Allen and his partner sending multiple emails and making “disparaging” remarks in a parents' WhatsApp group.
In the messages, seen by MailOnline, the couple complained about the headteacher appointment process, led by Jackie Spriggs - the chairman of governors.
After the parents were sent a letter warning them from discussing the process, Levine said “they [Spriggs] think they have a right to control everyone” and said that people can “discuss anything they like”.
She jokingly said that the school could take them to High Court for defamation if they found the money, unaware of how serious the matter would be.
She wrote in the WhatsApp group: “Can you imagine what the 'action' is? Hello, 999, one of the school mums said something mean about me in a school mum WhatsApp group. Please can you arrest them?”
Allen wrote: “No public body has the power to control what people say about it”, with the sentiment supported by other parents.
Levine said Sprigs has “little spies in WhatsApp and Facebook groups” to feed her information, saying they need to “get a life”.
Expressing their “shock and anger” at the arrests, friends of the couple said that they are “both lovely” and the reaction to their messages were “hysterical”.
One mum, who was in the WhatsApp group, said: “I was utterly shocked when I heard that Maxie and Ros had been arrested – it was a hysterical reaction to the situation and I simply couldn't believe it.
“I've known Ros for six years and she's the nicest person I know. They are both lovely, reasonable people, and for anyone thinking there must be more to this – there really isn't.
“There was nothing in those WhatsApp messages to take offence at – last time I checked, people are allowed to voice their concerns and criticisms without being arrested in this country.”
Allen, a producer at Times Radio, accused the school of trying to silence them, whilst branding the arrests as “dystopian”.
The producer called the ordeal “nightmarish”, adding: “We’d never used abusive or threatening language, even in private, and always followed due process.”
“Yet we have never even been told what these communications were that were supposedly criminal, which is completely Kafkaesque.”
The situation began in May 2024 when the father wrote to the school governors asking why - since the previous head teacher had announced his retirement six months prior - a recruitment process had not begun.
The next month, the chair of the school governors, Jackie Spriggs, allegedly sent parents a message saying that the school would take action against anyone who caused “disharmony”.
Soon after the comments made in the group, the school reportedly banned the couple from visiting the grounds, saying they could only communicate via email.
The couple repeatedly emailed the school asking them to lift the ban, though the school soon thought the number of messages was becoming excessive, and asked the police to step in.
In December, a police officer issued the parents with a warning and apparently told them to take their daughter out of school - which they did the following month.
A week later, officers turned up to arrest the pair.
A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said: “The arrests were necessary to fully investigate the allegations as is routine in these types of matters.
“Following further investigations, officers deemed that no further action should be taken due to insufficient evidence.”
Find Out More...