Pub landlords won’t back down over ‘racist’ golliwogs seized by police

Pub landlords whose premises were raided by five police who seized a collection of antique golliwogs have vowed to keep the dolls.

Benice Ryley, 61 and 65-year-old husband Chris, 65, of the White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex, were subjected to an anonymous complaint of a “hate crime”.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has reportedly told Essex Police that they should be focusing on catching real criminals rather than seizing toys.

Ms Ryley said officers investigating are yet to question her husband since the raid to take 15 golliwogs captured on CCTV last week Tuesday.

She told MailOnline: “The police still have the dolls and I have no updates at all. The whole thing is totally mad.

“Since the gollies were taken and the story was in the newspapers, we have had so many people get in touch with myself and my husband to say we shouldn’t give up and should keep them on our shelf

“Over the last two days my customers keep singing ‘save the gollies’ and they want us to get them back.

“So we are having a sign prepared that will say ‘gollies are on display, so don’t come in if that offends you’ and once that’s ready we’ll restore some more of the dolls to the shelf.”

A Home Office source said: “The Home Secretary’s views have now been made very plain to Essex Police so they’re under no illusions.

“Police forces should not be getting involved in this kind of nonsense. It’s about tackling anti-social behaviour, stopping violence against women and girls, attending burglaries and catching criminals - not seizing dolls.”

The College of Policing issued updated guidance last month stating that non-crime hate incidents should not be recorded where there is no basis to conclude that an incident was motivated by hostility.

The guidance also states: “Wherever possible, freedom of speech should be prioritised.”

Golliwog figures created by American-British cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton began appearing in children’s books in the 19th century.

The physical dolls became popular in Britain in the 1970s but came to be considered a racist caricature of black people.

Essex Police said in a statement on Monday: “We are investigating an allegation of a hate crime in Grays.

“The report was made to us on February 24 after a member of the public reported being distressed after attending a venue off Argent Street.

“The investigation is being carried out under Section 4(a) of the Public Order Act 1986 and Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

“We have regularly discussed the progression of this case with the Crown Prosecution Service and on Tuesday April 4, five officers visited a location off Argent Street, Grays, and seized several items in connection with that investigation.

“No one has been arrested or charged in connection with the investigation and our enquiries are ongoing…

“We are aware some elements of the media have reported that Essex Police has been contacted directly by the Home Secretary in relation to this investigation.

“At the time of writing, this is categorically not true. As a result, we would ask all media reporting this to amend their news reports immediately.

“In addition, as is the case in all investigations across every police force, we maintain operational independence from the Home Office which ensures that every investigation is carried out without fear or favour.”