Two-tier policing conspiracy theory
British far-right term
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Two-tier policing is a term used in the United Kingdom where it is believed that the police force are applying the law unequally, treating certain groups, political causes, ethnicities or demographics more harshly or less harshly than others.
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A protestor holding a placard saying "TWO TIER KEIR" during the 2024 United Kingdom riots | |
| Origin | Far-right internet |
|---|---|
| Context | British policing |
| Coined by | Far-right social media users |
| Meaning | Police bias against white people |
Genesis of the idea
The BBC and The Guardian attribute the origin of the two-tier policing claim to far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who used the phrase in 2012.[1][2] The journalist Lizzie Dearden has traced the emergence of the term “two-tier policing” on the far right to a later point in 2019, when it began to be mentioned in Telegram groups. From there, the term spread, being taken up by anti-vaxxers during the COVID-19 pandemic and applied to the police handling of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring.[3] According to The Guardian, the concept entered the mainstream in 2023 when Home Secretary Suella Braverman accused the Met of “double standards” and favouring the “assertion of primacy by certain groups – particularly Islamists” and “playing favourites” by suppressing “lockdown objectors” and not BLM activists.[1][4] It has since been used by the Reform UK politician Richard Tice.[5] [6] Far-right activists have since applied the concept to their analysis of police responses to the, largely peaceful, Gaza protests and localised Harehills riot in comparison to the policing of widespread national disorder committed during the 2024 United Kingdom riots.[7] The phrase 'two-tier Keir' was also adapted as a jibe against Keir Starmer's premiership since 2024.[2]
The Sunday Times and The Guardian described two-tier policing as a conspiracy theory in 2024, and it was also described as such in a 2025 research paper by criminologists at the University of Salford and Northumbria University.[8][9][10] Barrister Sam Fowles called claims of two-tier policing a "spurious conspiracy theory" and criticised mainstream media outlets for treating it as legitimate. He said sentences for 2024 rioters were less severe than those of left-wing protestors prosecuted for disruptive but peaceful acts.[11] Fowles later stated that in 2025 claims of bias against white people in the justice system similarly spread "generally uncritically, across the traditional media".[12]
Some political commentators and academics have described the theory as an example of white grievance and reverse victimhood.[13][14]
In 2025, The Standard and The Times reported that a leaked, unpublished Home Office internal review described two-tier policing as an extremist ideological belief.[15][better source needed][16] The theory has gained international prominence following its use by Elon Musk, who used the term when criticising government handling of the 2024 riots.[17][18]
Politicians representing the Democratic Unionist Party have accused the Police Service of Northern Ireland of two-tier policing in unionist areas following the 2025 Northern Ireland riots[19] and the police response to counter-protestors at a pro-Palestine march in Scarva.[20] The PSNI have rejected these claims.[19][21]
In June 2026, BBC News defined the term saying: "Two-tier policing is a term used to describe the idea that some groups of people, or some behaviour (for example protests and demonstrations) are dealt with more harshly, more robustly, than others by law enforcement".[22]
Assessments
In Police Oracle, former Special Branch officer Chris Hobbs has described accusations, from both the far-right and far-left, of two-tier policing as a misrepresentation of how police predict, monitor, and respond to specific demonstrations, protests, and disturbances.[23]
According to Novara Media, a FOI request by Global Witness found that the Metropolitan Police's own data revealed that environmental campaigners, with peaceful groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, were significantly more likely to be arrested and charged than agitators who engaged in far-right violence.[24] According to Netpol, Home Office data has also shown that the Public Order Act was used by police in London more than anywhere else in the country, and that of these 57.7% were used to restrict pro-Palestine demonstrators while only 11.5% were used in relation to far-right protests.[25] Similarly, in assessing claim of two-tier policing, Byline Times said "a quarter-century of official findings record racial bias in British policing running against black people – the reverse of the “two-tier” bias far-right rioters invoke".[26]
In 2025 the Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, defended the use of the term as legitimate debate.[27] In a panel on BBC Politics Live in March that year, the journalist Ash Sarkar challenged the notion of two-tier policing in relation to Pre-sentence Reports, describing the notion as "complete rubbish".[28]
Murder of Henry Nowak
In the aftermath of the murder of Henry Nowak, the debate intensified.
Based on government statistics, Marvin Rees has said that "race and class are key determinants to people's experience of the criminal justice system". [29] In June 2026, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition, disagreed with the acting chief constable of West Midlands Police, who, following the murder, denied that there was two-tier policing in the West Midlands. Badenoch acknowledged that, though not necessarily intentional, people were experiencing it. She added that "it is quite clear that something is not right".[30] The Labour government's policing minister, Sarah Jones, said of the police guidance which instructs police officers to treat ethnic minorities differently, it is "wrong". Jones was unable to deny that “two-tier policing” exists in Britain. The guidance, which is now being reviewed by police chiefs, was published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in 2025.[31] Nigel Farage argued that the police treat white people differently because of their race, and that their behaviour in the Nowak case showed evidence of two-tier policing.[29]
Former Labour home secretary, David Blunkett, recently co-authored, along with the former Conservative policing minister, Nick Herbert, a report on police leadership for the College of Policing. Ahead of its publication, in a BBC interview, he said its findings suggested that across the police service there were weaknesses in leadership, morale and culture. Asked if he thought there was a problem with "two-tier policing", Blunkett said "I think there's a perception". He said "It's gone from the [1999] Macpherson report about outright racism in the force, particularly the reflections in the Met, all the way through to people saying 'oh, it's woke'", adding "We make it clear in the report that there's no room for culture wars or woke. It isn't the job of the police in our country to take sides of any sort. It's the job of the police to deliver".[32]
The Greater Manchester police chief constable, Stephen Watson, said that there was more work required to address the perception of two-tier policing that was held by some. He also said that he did not believe that there was such a thing in his police force. He added, "I think, to an extent, we have to acknowledge that the public perceive there to be two-tier policing" and added "And whether that be historically people from minority communities or in the aftermath of the tragic Henry Novak case, I think people perceive it now from different quarters and across the board" and "We've uncritically adopted language that persuades people that perhaps we are not as impartial as we should be and so, in a sense, I see the perception".[22]