The government has been slammed for creating an elite team of police officers to monitor social media for anti-migrant posts. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as “sinister” and the start of the “state controlling free speech”.
The Home Office has created the National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, which will include detectives from across the country. Working out of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster, they will “maximise social media intelligence” to quickly identify signs of potential civil unrest. It comes after forces were criticised for their response to the riots last year and growing concerns that further disruption could take place on the streets this summer.
Pro-migrant protesters swarmed the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf, London, this week following riots at the Bell Hotel in Epping. There were further protests in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, on Friday (July 25) after Reform MP Lee Anderson claimed a man charged with rape in his constituency is an asylum seeker.
However, the Labour government’s move to assemble a designated police force to sniff out anti-migrant posts on social media has drawn criticism from both the Conservates Party and Reform UK. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has accused Sir Keir Starmer of turning the UK into a “surveillance state” while Nigel Farage said the decision is “dangerous”.
As reported by The Telegraph, Philp said: “Two-tier Keir can’t police the streets, so he’s trying to police opinions instead. They’re setting up a central team to monitor what you post, what you share, what you think, because deep down they know the public don’t buy what they’re selling.
“Labour have stopped pretending to fix Britain and started trying to mute it. This is a Prime Minister who’s happy to turn Britain into a surveillance state, but won’t deport foreign criminals, won’t patrol high streets, won’t fund frontline policing.
“Labour are scared of the public, Labour don’t trust the public, Labour don’t even know the public.”
Farage added: “This is the beginning of the state controlling free speech. It is sinister, dangerous and must be fought. Reform UK will do just that.”
The government has been accused of treating rioters too harshly following the Southport attacks last summer. Lucy Connolly, a mother of one who is married to a Tory councilor, was jailed for 31 months over an inflammatory post after Axel Rudakubana killed three young girls.
However, a report accused policing in the UK of failing to “keep pace” with the “fast-developing nature of online communications”. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) urged police forces to recognise “that online content could contain vital intelligence.”
In response, Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, sent the following letter to MPs: “We are carefully considering recommendations made by the [Commons home affairs] committee and HMICFRS [His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services] in this area, including building a National Internet Intelligence Investigations team as part of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC).
“This team will provide a national capability to monitor social media intelligence and advise on its use to inform local operational decision-making.
“This will be a dedicated function at a national level for exploiting internet intelligence to help local forces manage public safety threats and risks.
“Funding for this capability beyond 2025-26 will need to be considered in line with future funding priorities but I am confident that as a first step, this new central team will help build capability across forces to maximise social media intelligence.”
The move has also been criticised by free speech campaigners, who are concerned the investigations could lead to the policing of lawful online opinions.
Rebecca Vincent, the interim director of Big Brother Watch, said: “The Home Office’s plan to create a new police unit to monitor social media is disturbing, and eerily reminiscent of the Covid-era counter-disinformation units, which have been the subject of widespread public outcry.
“It is unclear how police will use the information they gather or whether they will attempt to interfere with online content as these Orwellian units have before, but our message is clear – the Ministry of Truth era is over.
“Resources should be put into proper physical policing to ensure public safety rather than surveilling online speech.”