A semi-professional footballer who posted a homophobic message about Olympic divers Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield will not be prosecuted, it was announced today.
Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC said that the tweet by Port Talbot Town player Daniel Thomas, which led to his arrest by Welsh police, was “offensive, misguided and naive”, but had been intended to be humorous and to be seen only by the footballer’s family and friends.
He said that Thomas had also expressed remorse and taken “reasonably swift action” to remove the message and that because human rights law also gave people the right to “offend, shock and disturb” others prosecution was not appropriate.
Mr Starmer added: “This was, in essence, a one-off offensive Twitter message, intended for family and friends, which made its way into the public domain.
“It was not intended to reach Mr Daley or Mr Waterfield, it was not part of a campaign, it was not intended to incite others and Mr Thomas removed it reasonably swiftly and has expressed remorse. Against that background, it was not so grossly offensive that criminal charges need to be brought.”
The announcement — which is likely to be welcomed by civil liberties campaigners — came as Mr Starmer announced new legal guidelines are to be drawn up over when charges will be brought over abuse on Twitter and other social media sites.
He said he planned to set a “high threshold” for launching criminal action against people who post offensive tweets in recognition of the “spontaneous” way in which people used social media.
Mr Starmer said he wanted to consult the public before drawing up the guidelines, which were needed because of the “clear difference” between the way that people used social media sites and other forms of communication and because of the vast number of messages posted “instantaneously” that reached millions of people when they were only intended to be read by a few.
The DPP warned that criminal action would still be needed to “prosecute serious wrongdoing” in any future cases involving “sustained harassment” or the posting of “grossly offensive or threatening remarks” on Twitter or other social media sites. But he wanted to ensure that the “fundamental right to free speech” was respected.
He added: “The CPS has the task of balancing the fundamental right of free speech and the need to prosecute serious wrongdoing on a case by case basis. That often involves very difficult judgment calls.
“In some cases it is clear that a criminal prosecution is the appropriate response to conduct which is complained about.
“But in many other cases a criminal prosecution will not be the appropriate response. If the fundamental right to free speech is to be respected, the threshold for criminal prosecution has to be a high one.”
The DPP said he would now draw up interim guidelines for prosecutors on when charges should, or should not, be brought before holding a “wide public consultation “ ahead of the publication of finalised rules.
