An elite police unit set up by the Labour government has already flagged more than 100 social media posts to local forces, monitoring online “protest related activity” in a move critics brand a sinister step toward state control of speech.
The National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, created in the wake of the 2024 Southport riots, began operations in February. Freedom of Information figures obtained by the Telegraph and reported today show it has made 106 referrals of “suspicious” posts to forces across the country.
In June alone, 50 of those referrals came as public anger boiled over in Southampton after police bodycam footage exposed officers handcuffing dying teenage murder victim Henry Nowak while accepting a false complaint of ‘racism’ from his Sikh killer.
When the unit was first announced, then policing minister Dame Diana Johnson described it as “a dedicated function at a national level for exploiting internet intelligence to help local forces manage public safety threats and risks.”
The National Police Coordination Centre claims the squad “supports policing’s understanding of protest-related activity in the online environment by developing a broader picture of emerging, potential risks.”
Its remit, officials say, focuses on “providing strategic insight and improving awareness of protest-related developments that may have relevance to policing.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage commented “This is the beginning of the state controlling free speech. It is sinister, dangerous and must be fought.”
Police have refused to disclose which posts were flagged, citing exemptions around crime prevention. The pattern is clear enough. The unit was born from the Southport disorder that followed the murders of three girls by Axel Rudakubana.
Hellbound and Down 