Police SCRAP hate-crime 're-education' courses after storm over army veteran arrested for a tweet - as free speech campaigners slam officers who 'think it's their job to be political guardians'
Hampshire Constabulary ran sessions for people accused of racism, sexism, misogyny and transphobia
The restorative justice scheme was funded out of the force's Police and Crime Commissioner's budget
But it faced controversy when an army veteran, 51, was offered the course after retweeting a meme
He was told he could avoid prosecution if he took part before police had conducted any investigation
PCC Donna Jones revealed she is ending the contract with the company which manages the programme
A hate crime awareness course which gave alleged offenders the chance to avoid prosecution has been scrapped by a police chief.
Hampshire Constabulary was among three forces in the country that ran the two-hour educational sessions for people accused of racism, sexism, misogyny and transphobia.
The restorative justice scheme was funded out of the force's Police and Crime Commissioner's budget, but faced controversy when a 51-year-old army veteran was offered the course after retweeting a meme - which showed four LGBT pride flags positioned to make a swastika.
He was told by police he could avoid prosecution if he took part in the session before they had conducted any investigation. He was subsequently released with no further action.
Donna Jones, Tory PCC for Hampshire, revealed on Sunday that she is ending the contract with the company which manages the programme as campaigners - including a former police officer who was also arrested during the incident - hailed the move as a victory over 'woke coppers'.
