In a stunning display of two-tier policing, Kent Police have determined that an exhibition featuring grotesque drawings of Jews eating babies does not qualify as abusive, insulting, or hateful.
This comes as Britain continues to arrest nearly 10,000 people a year for social media posts, including journalists questioned over old tweets criticizing mass immigration.
The exhibition, titled Drawings Against Genocide, took place at Joseph Wales Studios in Margate, Kent. It featured hundreds of crudely drawn pictures, including one by ‘artist’ Matthew Collings depicting two auctioneers at Sotheby’s – owned by French-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi – eating babies, with blood dripping from their sharpened teeth. A sign directing to the drawings said: “Antisemitic art exhibition this way”.
A revolting exhibition in Margate has "art" by @matthew51691936 Collings conflating Israel with Nazis, & Jews eating babies.
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) March 24, 2026
TalkTV's @JuliaHB1 said actions like this led to the extermination of 6 million Jews. "I am not joking".
Julia believes we should call this out. pic.twitter.com/Kz4DscLDkr
Collings, 70, formerly one of the country’s leading art critics, said the art was “about raising consciousness about hell” and that “Israel is the pure encapsulation of it” through its actions in Gaza. He denied that it showed Jewish people, saying “nothing in the drawing says ‘Jews’ or claims Jews eat babies”. He said it “makes a comment that the owner of Sotheby’s is a Zionist” and “the message is that Zionism is a brutal ideology”.
The Labour-led Thanet council initially promoted the event on its tourism website before apologising after being accused of supporting the exhibition.
An “anti-Semitic” art exhibition with drawings allegedly showing Jewish people eating babies was seemingly promoted by a Labour council ??https://t.co/MKqCydziAW pic.twitter.com/9cLK7yWDi9
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 23, 2026
Kent Police responded to a complaint in a letter stating: “The artwork is critical of the Israeli state and its actions but does not include content that is directly abusive or insulting toward Jewish people as a group.
“There is also no indication of an intent by the artist to stir up racial or religious hatred, which is a specific requirement within the legislation,” the letter added.
The force ruled it did not meet the threshold for a hate crime or even a non-crime hate incident (NCHI). They added: “This is because the content is political in nature, focuses on a nation state rather than a protected group, and is part of artistic expression, which is afforded protection under freedom of expression laws.
Exhibition that shows 'Jews eating babies' deemed NOT abusive or insulting by policehttps://t.co/fFtzdttFnV
— GB News (@GBNEWS) March 24, 2026
The letter further explained, “There is no information to suggest hostility toward Jewish people as a group, nor any indication of risk of harm. I understand that this outcome may be disappointing, especially given the impact that viewing the images had on you. Please be assured that your concerns were taken seriously, and the decision was made only after a thorough assessment of all available information.”
The decision, disclosed just hours before an antisemitic arson attack on four Hatzolah Jewish volunteer ambulances in North London, prompted outcry from Jewish campaign groups and politicians who called the artwork “grotesque” and “not just sickening, but dangerous”. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp urged Kent Police to rethink its decision.
Counter-terror police are investigating an anti-Semitic firebomb attack feared to have been orchestrated by Iran, The Telegraph understands.
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 23, 2026
?: https://t.co/uWuDCcUttB pic.twitter.com/zorMraYqFA
Critics note that this selective approach stands in sharp contrast to how Britain polices speech on immigration and Muslims. In 2024 alone, police arrested 9,700 people for “grossly offensive” social media posts under the Communications Act 2003 and Malicious Communications Act 1988 – roughly 30 arrests per day.
Toby Young of the Free Speech Union called the scale “a national scandal” and warned the UK is becoming “the North Korea of the North Sea.”
Maya Thomas of Big Brother Watch said: “The UK is unfortunately gaining an international reputation as a country where online speech is policed with more enthusiasm than the types of crime causing people the most anxiety.”
David Spencer of Policy Exchange added: “When Chief Constables choose to use their finite resources on policing social media, it means they are not using that resource to tackle knife crime, sexual offences and shoplifting.”
High-profile examples include Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson, visited at home by Essex Police on Remembrance Sunday over a year-old tweet accused of “racial hatred”. She posted on X: “I respect the police who do a v difficult job, but 2 coppers turning up at my house on Remembrance Sunday over a year-old tweet – they won’t tell me what it said – erodes public confidence. This is a free society and law-abiding people should not be pursued for ‘wrong think’.”
Comments expressing concerns about mass immigration, cultural issues with Islam, or even sarcastic remarks routinely trigger police action. Yet antisemitic tropes dressed up as “art” and “political” commentary on Israel receive full protection.
Britain’s speech gulag exposes a dangerous hypocrisy. When authorities protect blood libel imagery while raiding citizens over tweets, equal justice under the law vanishes. Free expression must apply to everyone – or it applies to no one.
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