His remarks came as Essex police investigated an allegation of inciting racial hatred by the Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson for allegedly posting a message on X labelling protesters as "Jew haters".
Keir Starmer said he would defend the right of the police to make operational decisions, and said they would be "held to account" for them.
His comments were made amid fierce debate on free speech after Pearson claimed she was left "dumbstruck" by a visit by police officers to her home on Remembrance Sunday over a long-deleted social media post and "accused of a non-crime hate incident". A number of people who backed far-right rioters over the summer were arrested and charged for allegedly posting tweets that were considered incitement.
Speaking to reporters as he travelled to the G20 summit in Brazil, Starmer said: "Firstly, obviously, this is a matter for the police themselves, police force by police force. So they can make their decisions and will obviously be held to account for those decisions.
"There is a review going on of this particular aspect but, you know, I think that as a general principle the police should concentrate on what matters most to their communities."
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