Protests are earlier today, mid afternoon not early evening. Probably so as to be home in time for the football, England Women v Spain in the Women’s Euro final. Basel kick off 5pm.
The authorities are obviusly rattled; sadly not in the right direction. From the Daily Express
Fury as Home Office creates police team to monitor anti-migrant posts – ‘muting Britain’
The government has been slammed for creating an elite team of police officers to monitor social media for anti-migrant posts. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the move as “sinister” and the start of the “state controlling free speech”.
The Home Office has created the National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, which will include detectives from across the country. Working out of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster, they will “maximise social media intelligence” to quickly identify signs of potential civil unrest. It comes after forces were criticised for their response to the riots last year and growing concerns that further disruption could take place on the streets this summer.
… the Labour government’s move to assemble a designated police force to sniff out anti-migrant posts on social media has drawn criticism from both the Conservates Party and Reform UK.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has accused Sir Keir Starmer of turning the UK into a “surveillance state” while Nigel Farage said the decision is “dangerous”. 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.”
The move has also been criticised by free speech campaigners, who are concerned the investigations could lead to the policing of lawful online opinions.
