Keir Starmer was last night accused of an 'obsession with censorship' after it emerged an elite team of police officers will monitor social media posts to quell riots.
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 online.
It comes amid fears Britain could face another summer of disorder just 12 months after a wave of riots following the Southport murders.
Demonstrations have flared up outside The Bell Hotel, in Epping, Essex, after an Ethiopian asylum seeker was charged with sexual offences against a schoolgirl.
Protesters – and counter-protesters from Stand Up to Racism – gathered outside the hotel again yesterday, with more demos planned at other migrant hotels including in Wolverhampton, Cheshire and Canary Wharf, amid local concerns about hotels being used to accommodate single male migrants.
