A new national police intelligence team will monitor social media for signs of anti-migrant disorder, sparking criticism from free speech advocates. The unit, part of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster, aims to prevent a repeat of last summer's riots across England and Northern Ireland following the murder of three girls in Southport.
The Home Office confirmed the plans in a letter to MPs from policing minister Diana Johnson, stating the team will provide a 'national capability to monitor social media intelligence' to inform local operational decisions. The move comes after violent demonstrations outside an asylum seeker hotel in Epping, Essex, and fresh protests in Leeds, Norwich, and Nottinghamshire.
Critics, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, labelled the unit an attempt to 'police opinions' and turn Britain into a 'surveillance state'. However, a Home Office spokesperson denied monitoring anti-migrant sentiment, saying the capability is about responding to real-time incidents and emergencies, not monitoring what people say on social media.
The police inspectorate earlier this year found the approach to online intelligence during last summer's unrest was 'disjointed and fragmented' and required urgent overhaul. The disorder, sparked by false claims about the Southport attacker's identity, overwhelmed police forces as violence spread via apps like Telegram.
Funding for the unit is secured until 2025-26, with future funding to be considered later. The NPoCC, which took over monitoring anti-migrant disorder from counter-terror policing in 2020, had incorrectly assessed the threat of unrest last summer as 'low'.
