A Leeds charity boss says she has withdrawn a complaint she made to police about a journalist's tweets because she feels people are being 'wrongly directed' to believe it was about misgendering.
Susie Green, chief executive of the Leeds-based charity Mermaids, lodged a complaint with Surrey Police after Caroline Farrow accused her of 'child abuse' for allowing her daughter to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
The tweets were posted after the two women engaged in a heated debate on ITV's Good Morning Britain in October.
Surrey Police launched an investigation and asked the Catholic journalist and commentator to attend a voluntary interview at a police station in Guildford, but the investigation has been dropped after the complaint was formally withdrawn.
Ms Farrow claimed that police wanted to interview her under caution for 'misgendering Susie Green's child' by using the wrong pronoun, and was told it could be an offence under the Malicious Communications Act.
These claims sparked a debate and were covered extensively in the national press.
Ms Green said she decided to withdraw the complaint because it was not about misgendering and the public discussion has been 'wrongly directed'.
In a statement, Mermaids UK, which offers support to transgender children, said: "The tweets are a lot more serious than about misgendering.
"They were allegations of serious misconduct and vile and spiteful personal attacks. The content was not about misgendering and it is unfortunate that so much of the media has fallen for the incorrect claim that they were.
"Our chief executive has now decided that the complaints were being exploited so as to promote an inaccurate discussion of Mermaids and trans issues.
"She had decided to ask the police to not to pursue the complaint on this occasion.
"Hate crime is vastly under reported. The coverage of this story implies that people who report social media hate are wasting police time.
"This is an appalling use of media to deter and shame families and young people from reporting hate against them."
A Surrey Police spokesman said: "Without the support of the victim, it is unlikely that a criminal case could be bought, and both parties (and the CPS) have been informed of that.
"An appointment has been made between her and another police force to obtain a formal statement withdrawing the allegation."
The charity has previously been criticised by comedy writer Graham Lineham, who encouraged people to campaign against plans to provide it with National Lottery funding.
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