Elite police squad to monitor anti-migrant posts on social media

The Home Office has established the National Internet Intelligence Investigations team to track social media for signs of anti-migrant sentiment, amid fears of renewed riots in Britain. Based at the National Police Coordination Centre in Westminster, the unit will draw detectives nationwide to “maximise social media intelligence” and detect early indicators of civil unrest.

This follows criticism of police responses to last summer’s riots, with protests outside asylum hotels escalating in towns like Norwich, Leeds, and Bournemouth.Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister, stated, “This team will provide a national capability to monitor social media intelligence and advise on its use to inform local operational decision-making.”

The initiative responds to recommendations from the Commons home affairs committee and HMICFRS, which noted policing’s failure to keep pace with online communications.

Critics, including shadow home secretary Chris Philp, called the plans “disturbing,” warning,

“They’re setting up a central team to monitor what you post, what you share, what you think.”

Nigel Farage labeled it

“the beginning of the state controlling free speech.”

Free speech campaigners, like Rebecca Vincent of Big Brother Watch, expressed concerns about potential overreach, urging focus on physical policing instead.The unit aligns with Sir Keir Starmer’s crime crackdown, aiming to enhance public safety and restore trust in policing.