Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of 'trying to police opinions' by assembling an elite team of police officers to monitor growing anti-migrant sentiment online.
Detectives are set to be drawn from forces around the country as the Government scrambles to crack down on potential violence by flagging up early signs of civil unrest on social media.
It comes amid fears Britain could face another summer of disorder just 12 months after a wave of riots sparked scenes of chaos following the Southport murders.
Earlier this month, demonstrations first flared up outside The Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex, after an Ethiopian asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl, but protests have since spread to other parts of the country.
The new police division, assembled by the Home Office, will aim to 'maximise social media intelligence' after police forces were heavily criticised for their handling of last year's riots which quickly spread across the country.
