Luke Salmons was suspended from his roles as a community support officer and forced to resign for questioning Islam during mandatory training
What’s at stake?
- The entrenching of an ‘Islamic blasphemy code’, where the questioning or critique of Islam is met with punishment or suspension.
- This case is yet more evidence of two-tier policing in Britain – where issues related to Islam and race are treated in a different manner.
- The pre-eminence of our national religion. There is no neutrality and one worldview will always prevail – sanctioning Christianity has paved the way for secular orthodoxy, which in turn is now paving the way for Islam.
- Freedom of speech and freedom of religion in the United Kingdom. Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights (EHRC) guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Silencing and suspending Christians like Luke overturns a founding pillar of Britain’s identity – freedom.
Support Luke:
Luke was helped by the Christian Legal Centre to take his case forwards.
We provide this support completely free of charge to Luke and others like him.
Make a donation today to support Luke and help this work continue.
Sign our petition and say no to two-tier police training.
Timeline
2024:
- September: Luke attends a compulsory pilot training programme intended to help develop a new North Yorkshire Police policy on race, religion and culture. The course was delivered by external trainers and presented as a “safe space” where officers were encouraged to ask challenging questions. During one session, Luke recalls trainers repeatedly walking up and down the room chanting, “Islam is a religion of peace.”
- 8 October: Matters escalate during a Culture, Race and Religion course delivered by a Muslim police sergeant. Participants were explicitly told they were free to discuss difficult topics. During the session, Luke asked the sergeant for his thoughts on the situation in Gaza and the Middle East, where Islamist groups such as Hamas commit atrocities in the name of Islam. Following that discussion, he asked a follow‑up question about how the sergeant understood the term “jihad”. The exchange was respectful but robust. The sergeant engaged fully and later invited Luke to continue the conversation over coffee.
- 10 October: Just two days after this exchange, Luke is suspended, despite being reassured that the sessions were safe spaces for free discussion.
- In the lead‑up to his suspension, concerns were raised about Luke’s expressed beliefs during training. He was reprimanded for mild comments about antisemitism in the UK and, during a sexual behaviour training session, expressed concern, from a Christian perspective, about the normalisation of underage sex and pornography involving minors. He was later reported for being “combative and critical of the views expressed in the training” and explicitly told that he was not permitted to discuss his morals in the workplace. Luke found this contradictory, given that policing operates under a Code of Ethics, which by its nature involves moral reasoning.
- October: Later in October, without warning, Luke is told to leave his warrant card and phone behind, and he is sent home. He is formally suspended the following day.
- December: A female inspector, who had previously told Luke she “did not like his beliefs,” emails a superintendent about Luke’s case, alleging he poses an ‘organisational risk’ and holds ‘racist and homophobic’ views. These claims were never put to him for response and are believed to relate to his questioning during training.
2025:
- March: After hearing nothing for months while remaining suspended, Luke writes to senior officers explaining the toll the suspension was taking on his mental health and his family, and he requests to return to work. The letter remains unanswered.
- April-May: Having received no update and with pressure mounting, Luke resigns due to the severe impact the suspension process was having on him and his family.
- July: Despite his resignation, North Yorkshire Police convene a gross misconduct hearing and, in his absence, dismiss Luke and place him on the Police Barred List, preventing him from working in policing for at least five years and potentially for life.
- Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Luke appeals the decision, highlighting inconsistencies in witness evidence, reliance on hearsay, and the failure to distinguish between respectfully asking questions and expressing extremist views.
Videos and media coverage
- BBC: Ex-PCSO settles Christian discrimination case
- The Daily Mail: Christian PCSO says he was banned from policing after asking Muslim sergeant about Islamism, Gaza and antisemitism during ‘safe space’ diversity training
- The Telegraph: ‘I was barred from police for questioning Islam’
- GB News:
- Video: ‘I Was BANNED From Policing for Questioning Islam’ | Triggered with Samara Gill
- The Yorkshire Post: PCSO Luke Salmons: ‘Questioning Islam is now treated as ‘wrongthink’ within North Yorkshire Police’
- Christian Today: Is there a two-tier Britain?
- Premier Christian News: Christian police officer reaches settlement after Islam questions in training suspension
Support Luke:
Luke was helped by the Christian Legal Centre to take his case forwards.
We provide this support completely free of charge to Luke and others like him.
Make a donation today to support Luke and help this work continue.
Sign our petition and say no to two-tier police training.