Roger Hirst, the police, fire and crime commissioner for Essex, has defended the county's force in the face of a backlash over the treatment of Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson. She is under investigation for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a tweet posted, and then quickly deleted, last year. Mr Hirst questioned whether investigating hundreds of non-crime hate incidents is worthy of officers' time and called for a debate on the issue. Essex Police has been condemned for its actions by critics including former prime minister Boris Johnson after Ms Pearson was not told the specific focus of the enquiry.