EXCLU: SHADOWS OF THE WITCHFINDER: IT Director reveals harrowing midnight raid by TWELVE officers over a blog post as he wins bombshell £34,000 payout

• Samuel Collingwood Smith, 47, was snatched from his home at midnight by a dozen officers

• The IT chief was hauled to Hatfield police station and detained overnight over a blog post

• Hertfordshire Constabulary has now issued a groveling apology and five-figure compensation

• Court order admits ‘unlawful arrest’ and ‘trespass’ as police records are wiped clean

An IT director who was dragged from his home in a terrifying midnight raid involving twelve police officers has spoken out after securing a sensational £34,000 compensation victory against the force that “trampled” over his civil liberties.

Samuel Collingwood Smith revealed details of his arrest to GB News

Samuel Collingwood Smith, 47, endured what he described as a “journey through hell” after a blog post he wrote triggered a heavy-handed police response more suited to a counter-terrorism operation than a dispute over digital commentary.

Speaking exclusively about the March 2025 ordeal, Mr. Smith revealed how his quiet evening was shattered when a small army of officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary descended on his property, seizing his devices and hauling him off to the cells.

A Midnight Nightmare

The drama began at a “completely bizarre” quarter to midnight. Mr. Smith, who operates a blog under the provocative pseudonym ‘Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General’—named after the infamous 17th-century hunter—found himself the target of a real-life pursuit.

“If you’d been burgled or murdered or subject to some horrible assault, your problem was the whole of Hatfield nick was down my house,” Mr. Smith remarked with a dry, Gallic wit.

Despite the overwhelming show of force, the IT director remained “very polite and cooperative,” even handing over passwords to his devices. However, the police’s determination to find a crime seemingly led to a farcical secondary arrest while he was already in the back of a van.

“They arrested me again in the van over ‘stolen post’ which turned out to be some undelivered Conservative Party leaflets. It was surreal,” he said.

Twelve officers descended on Samuel Smith’s property, conducted a search and held him in detention

The ‘Illegal’ Blog Post

The catalyst for this extraordinary police intervention was a blog post intended to defend a woman who had been falsely accused of being a pedophile. In his writing, Mr. Smith had characterized two men—who had been spreading the false information—as “extremists” and a “drug user.”

The duo reported the post to the police, triggering a chain of events that saw a legally qualified citizen treated like a dangerous criminal.

Mr. Smith, however, knew his rights. “A couple of days later, I started the process to sue them because I’m legally qualified,” he explained. “I sent a letter of claim and by the end of the week, they panicked, dropped the case, and gave me all my stuff back.”

Justice is Served

The legal battle culminated in a humiliating climbdown for Hertfordshire Constabulary. A court order has now confirmed the force:

• Unlawfully arrested and detained Mr. Smith.

• Acknowledged he committed no criminal offense.

• Accepted that officers trespassed on his private property.

In addition to the £34,000 payout, Mr. Smith’s arrest record will be wiped from the Police National Computer, replaced with a marker stating he faced “false allegations.”

A Warning for Free Speech

While the five-figure sum offers some solace, Mr. Smith warns that his case highlights a “haunting dark side” of modern law enforcement.

“I think [this action] was necessary. It’s really concerning that we have threats to free speech in this country,” he told GB News. The case has sparked fury among civil liberties campaigners, who question why twelve officers were deployed to silence a blogger while burglary solve rates remain at record lows.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Constabulary confirmed the force had settled the civil claim, stating: “The force apologises to Mr. Smith for the incidents. The constabulary will review the relevant facts to identify learning with a view to any improvement which can be made to training.”

For Mr. Smith, the victory is more than just financial; it is a “thunderous warning” to the authorities that the law applies to those who wear the uniform just as much as those they arrest.

As he returns to his IT career and his writing, the “Witchfinder General” has sent a clear message: the British public will not be silenced by the “brutal” and “unlawful” tactics of a system that has lost its way.