London mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised after it was revealed that just six internet trolls were brought to justice by his £1.7million 'Twitter squad'.
The Online Hate Crime Hub was launched more than two years ago and it is staffed by five Scotland Yard officers, including a senior detective.
It was given £1.7million in public money and in two years, the police unit has brought just six trolls to justice.
Officers dealt with a total of 1,612 cases, about two a day over the two years the project ran and the unit has had a handful of successful prosecutions. While one offender was given a suspended jail sentence, others escaped with community orders, restraining order and fines.
London police and crime committee member Susan Hall said it was an “exercise in spin over substance”.
She added: “This is money that could have been used to invest in additional police officers and protect Londoners from a whole host of crimes.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Khan said the Online Hate Crime Hub helped "support victims", adding: "The Met has made huge progress in tackling all forms of hate crime but it's clear more needs to be done."
The online crime hub was launched by the London mayor’s office for policing and crime (Mopac) after a consultation on crime reduction had identified the increasing role social media played in targeting individuals and communities.
Social media provided perpetrators a veil of anonymity, and it made it harder to bring them to justice, the consultation found.
6.9K views · 135 reactions | I’m genuinely shocked and saddened by reports that Will Jackson, Conservative candidate for North Harrow in the elections next month, has told British-born Asian MPs like Rishi Sunak and Shabana Mahmood that they are “not British” and should “go back to Pakistan,” He also suggested figures like Anthony Joshua and Dua Lipa aren’t British.I have raised this important matter in Parliament today, because there is no place for racism in our politics.I’m proud of Harrow’s diverse, close-knit communities. Every candidate should seek to unite people, not divide them.This matter must be taken seriously. I welcome the Conservative Party’s statement that Mr Jackson’s comments are wholly unacceptable and their decision to suspend him.But serious questions remain about how he was selected as a candidate in the first place, and why he was considered fit to represent our community.https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/13/conservative-candidate-tells-british-mps-to-go-back-to-pakistan/🎥 👇 | Gareth Thomas MP 
