Journalist questioned by Devon and Cornwall Police over tweets about former officer
Reporter says she was interviewed after posting factual updates about an ex-sergeant charged with harassment; force says the woman was interviewed and released under investigation
A journalist was interviewed by Devon and Cornwall Police over four social-media posts reporting that a former police sergeant had been charged with harassment, authorities and the reporter said.
Rebecca Tidy-Harris, a journalist based in Cornwall who previously lectured on policing, said she was contacted in September and told she was the subject of a criminal investigation into alleged harassment. She was interviewed on Sept. 1 as a voluntary attendee and released under investigation, a force spokesperson confirmed. The former officer at the centre of her posts, Harry Tangye, denies an allegation of non-violent harassment and is due to stand trial at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court in November.
Tidy-Harris told police she had posted four brief items on X (formerly Twitter) that she described as routine journalistic updates: a factual notice that Tangye had been charged after a West Yorkshire Police-led investigation; a quote and link to a local news story about an arrest; a remark about the extension of bail; and a private selfie with her child taken on a public beach. She said the posts did not tag Tangye and that she had blocked him some time earlier.
She said that, after an initial telephone call informing her she was under investigation, officers did not disclose the reasons for the inquiry for about two months and provided only an A4 sheet listing dates of the posts rather than the content. Tidy-Harris engaged a solicitor and declined to attend the station until she had details of the allegations, she said. She later attended the interview and answered questions accompanied by legal representation.
In an account of the interview provided to news outlets, Tidy-Harris said officers told her non-attendance would lead to arrest and that she felt the request for a "voluntary" interview was therefore coercive. She described being asked whether she had personal or sexual relationships with police officers or with the complainant, and said she considered those questions intrusive and irrelevant to the posts. She said a senior officer later told her solicitor that the force would not be submitting a file to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to her case.
A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: "An allegation of harassment relating to content posted online was made to the Force in March 2025. A woman aged in her 30s was interviewed as a voluntary attendee on 1 September and released under investigation while enquiries continue. She has not been arrested. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time." The force did not provide further detail about the complainant's allegations or the evidence they considered.
According to Tidy-Harris, the complainant told officers the posts had caused him "fear and distress." Harassment is a summary-only offence in England and Wales with a six-month time limit for prosecution. Tidy-Harris and free-speech advocates have expressed concern that routine reporting of criminal charges could be subject to harassment complaints, a development they say could chill journalistic activity. The reporter said she had been sharing public information as part of newsgathering and audience-engagement on X.
The case comes against a backdrop of debate over police responses to online complaints. Last week, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley was reported to have said officers were sometimes required to investigate online grievances that divert resources from other work. Tidy-Harris cited recent high-profile social-media-related arrests as context for her decision to comply with the interview request despite reservations.
Tangye, a former armed response officer, has denied the allegation that prompted his own charging and is due to appear at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court in November. Devon and Cornwall Police said enquiries into the online allegation were ongoing and did not confirm whether any further action would be taken in relation to Tidy-Harris.
Tidy-Harris said she intends to continue reporting on policing and crime matters. The solicitor who represented her declined to comment beyond the information provided during the interview. The police spokesman reiterated that it would be inappropriate to comment further while enquiries continue.