Sadiq Khan’s £1.7million online police unit brought just six trolls to justice in two years despite £1.7million of public money

LONDON Labour mayor Sadiq Khan’s online police unit brought just six trolls to justice in two years. He championed the Online Hate Crime Hub in a bid to prevent abusive comments. It was given £1.7million in public money — more than £450,000 from the Home Office and the rest from Scotland Yard. Critics blasted it […]

LONDON Labour mayor Sadiq Khan’s online police unit brought just six trolls to justice in two years.

He championed the Online Hate Crime Hub in a bid to prevent abusive comments.

EPA

London mayor Sadiq Khan championed the Online Hate Crime Hub in a bid to prevent abusive comments[/caption]

It was given £1.7million in public money — more than £450,000 from the Home Office and the rest from Scotland Yard.

Critics blasted it as “the thought police” or “like Big Brother”.

But the “Twitter squad” — staffed by five Scotland Yard officers including a senior detective — had a handful of successful prosecutions.

These include trolls found guilty of racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic posts.

One offender was given a suspended jail sentence, but the rest escaped with community orders, fines and a restraining order.

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.”

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