Labour has been accused of “trying to mute” the public as the Home Office is to set up a so called “new elite police unit” who will monitor anti-migrant “opinions” on social media in what has been described as “Two-tier” policing.
The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has described the move as “sinister” as the Home Office is setting up a National Internet Intelligence Investigations team.
This comes as there has been a series of protest at migrant hotels and Sir Keir Starmer warned last week the UK is at risk of another summer of anti-migration riots if the “social fabric” is not prepared.
Farage issued a warning that Britain is almost at boiling point and close to “civil disobedience on a vast scale.”
The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner also warned that immigration is have a “profound impact on society” last week.
Farage warned this “is the beginning of the state controlling free speech” that is “dangerous and must be fought.”
The Home Office wants to avoid riots as was seen last year and the new police unit will aim to “maximise social media intelligence.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris 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.
In a letter to MPs by Dame Diana Johnson, the policing minister the plans for the new police unit came to light.
Dame Diana stated, “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 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.
Johnson added, the new police unit “needs to be considered in line with future funding priorities.”
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