JOURNALIST Michael Casey who is well known in Thurrock for his work on YourThurrock.com and as a reporter on the Thurrock Gazette has spoken of his concerns for the safety of fellow writers and publishers after being subject to a hate campaign.

He spoke after his aggressor published malicious social media posts about him including a statement that Mr Casey had been caught with thousands of indecent images of children.

The hate campaign came about after Mr Casey published a story on his 'Your Harlow' website based on an Essex Police statement that they had raided a number of commercial premises as part of a series of drug searches across the town.

Among those premises named by police was a pub run by Karl Morris. Morris, 33, of Markwell Wood in Harlow, contacted Your Harlow claiming the story was inaccurate and, although the piece correctly stated what happened in terms of the actions of Essex Police, Casey added a clarification on Mr Morris's behalf that no drugs had been found nor any arrests made at the pub.

However, Morris demanded the whole story be taken down, later sending a text telling Mr Casey he was outside his office and that he was "starting his own news reports".

He then falsely claimed on Facebook, in a post that was extensively shared throughout the local community, that Mr Casey had been arrested on suspicion of child porn offences.

The post included the full address and a photo of the journalist's home, which is also where he works. Morris wrote: "Officers raided Michael Casey the editor of Your Harlow's home address in the early hours of this morning and recovered three laptops containing thousands of indecent images of children.

"There is now a local petition to remand Michael after he was given bail by police pending further investigations. As responsible Harlow residents we need to stop vile people like him from living in our community!"

Mr Casey was abroad at the time and feared his home could be subject to a vigilante attack. His daughter, who lives nearby, was asked if it was true by other parents when she collected her children from school the following day, and she became distressed that social services might want to take them away.

Mr Casey contacted police about the messages and Morris was subsequently charged and prosecuted. Last week he appeared before magistrates where he pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a £200 fine, £34 victim surcharge and £105 costs.

After the case Mr Casey spoke about his concerns for other journalists and said he worried that the size of the small fine might make others think it is "worth a punt" to post similar falsehoods or abuse against journalists.

He said: "Suppose it had worked and everybody believed it", suggesting he could have been forced to close Your Harlow. He suggested specific laws or sentencing guidelines for cases involving journalists, as there are when emergency workers are threatened on duty.

The increasing barrage of threats and abuse against journalists was raised in the House of Commons in October after a survey of regional journalists found more than 80 per cent feel the problem has got "significantly worse" since the start of their careers.

In just two examples from 2020, a right-wing activist was given a restraining order in November for abusing an Independent journalist at court while a local journalist in Cumbria was put under police protection amid repeated threats against her just months after a man was separately jailed for posting on Facebook that she "needed raping".

The UK Government set up a National Committee for the Safety of Journalists last year with representatives from the police, prosecuting authorities, NGOs, the BBC and press organisations with the aim of making sure journalists can work free from threats and violence.

They held their first meeting in July, with the second due, and are currently producing a draft action plan but Mr Casey urged them not to "overpromise and under deliver."

Mr Casey, a member of the advisory board for the Independent Community News Network based at Cardiff University, also said he would consider warning student journalists "if you go into journalism this now might be the norm".

He said: "If I wanted to be popular I would go to the local petting zoo and work as a volunteer. I accept there will be criticism… but this was so, so, so far over the line and the impact on my family is what distressed me."

Mr Casey's local MP, Conservative Robert Halfon, promised to raise the issue in Parliament and write to both the CPS and the Justice Secretary. "I am so sorry that this has happened," Mr Halfon said. "Too often people in public life, including journalists are harassed, intimated, threatened on social media and in person. Too often the perpetrators get away with a slap on the wrist from the legal system.

"It is unacceptable for the editor of Your Harlow to be treated in this way, fearing for his and his family's safety and livelihood. The courts should ensure that a signal is given out to guilty offenders, that this will not be tolerated. Much tougher legal sanction is needed."

Neil Speight, editor of Thurrock Nub News said: "My sympathies are with Michael. He is enough of a tough cookie, as am I, to deal with what we have now come to expect as run of the mill threats for doing out job. Only last week I received a phone call warning me off a story about illegal excavations in Thurrock, and before that the boss of a local company whose company I had written accurately about did warn me I might 'wake up in a ditch with a sore head' but if you go into this job you go into it with your eyes open that there may be some risk in a tiny fraction of the things you do.

"And if you dish out criticism, as I sometimes do, you have to expect to take it back in return. That is only fair and everyone is entitled to an opinion and the right to express it. I will never shirk from publishing critical opinion of me, even on Thurrock Nub News which is an open platform for anyone. You can't have one rule for others and a different one for yourself.

"But there are boundaries and Michael is absolutely right, this was pushing beyond that boundary and I am pleased the police and court saw it that way. To be honest though, I am not sure I agree with Michael about the level of the fine.

"I think the publicity that has now befallen Karl Morris is far more damning than the fine and that's the point of what we do in this job. The pen should be mightier than the sword."