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The basic point you are making is correct - the UK has very weak protections against criminal punishment of speech. But the "12,000 people arrested a year for tweets" statistic is misleading because the Malicious Communications Act covers threats, harassment, cyberstalking etc. as well as mere offensiveness. Based on online and published accounts of day-to-day police work by ex-cops, the vast majority of MCA arrests happen when chavs (or chavettes) make non-credible threats of violence against each other on social media and their parents demand a police response.
I agree with you that c.200 people arrested annually for merely offensive social media posts (which is closer to the real number) is not good and the appropriate number is zero.
It's not misleading. Making threats and harassment are already illegal in most countries. When the UK is pulling off more speech arrests than Russia, that's clear evidence they're more sensitive on the matter than any other country.
Yes, the British police, world-renowned for their honesty when progressive politics form the core part of an issue they're involved in.
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