The letter by Libertarian about mysogyny now being classed as a hate crime, prompted me to look further into the matter and what I found is extremely alarming.

First, nobody ever voted for None Hate Crime Incidents to be brought in. They are not the product of legislation by our elected parliament, but of guidance from the College of Policing, (CoP), an unelected quango.

Second, anyone reported for a Hate Crime could have their lives ruined, as they can appear on enhanced (DBS) Disclosure and Barring Service checks. NCHIs are ridiculous enough when applied to adults but even children aren’t safe.

Although many did not respond to requests for data, since 2014, police forces in England and Wales have recorded more than 2,000 ‘non-crime hate incidents’ against the names of children under the age of 17.

The result of this Orwellian instrument can now mean that something as simple as a playground squabble could blight someone’s future career.

D WALKER