CHESHIRE Police has denied that an officer questioned a newsagent in the town in an attempt to monitor sales of a special edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine following the Paris attacks.

A journalist at The Guardian has reported that an officer had called a shop that had ordered one issue of the magazine for a customer, who has asked to remain anonymous.

Speaking to the national newspaper, she said: “My husband ordered a copy of the special edition of Charlie Hebdo from our local newsagent in North Cheshire.

“Several days later the latter had a phone call from the police, saying they’d been told that he had been selling and advertising Charlie Hebdo in his shop. 

"He replied that this was untrue: he had supplied in total one copy, concealed, to a customer who was a French lecturer. I find the police action quite disturbing.”

But DCI Paul Taylor from Cheshire Police has dismissed these claims.

He said: “We’re not aware of anyone contacting by phone newsagents selling Charlie Hebdo in Warrington, but we were aware of the potential for heightened tensions following the attacks in Paris. 

“Therefore where it was felt appropriate officers visited newsagents to provide reassurance advice around the time of its publication."