He said: “If someone, for example, appears to be about to threaten violence or if they express exceptional views either racist or misogynistic, that could suggest that this could lead very imminently to the commission of a crime, then I think that we would like the police to take this into account.

“But the majority, probably 90% of these NCHIs that are reviewed do not meet that (threshold). The police should not enforce freedom of speech. The police should not think about the police.

“It should focus on the actual crime or conduct that is just below the criminal threshold and could realistically and imminently lead to a crime. We want to focus on these crimes, not on the thinking of the police.”

Baron Stevens, a former Met commissioner, said the force should “prioritise things like knife crime and street violence”.

“They’re wasting their time”

Sir Richard, a former head of MI6, said it was “ridiculous” that police were “wasting their time” investigating Pearson’s tweet.

Mrs. Cooper it is, however, trying to reverse the Tories’ decision to downgrade NCHI monitoring, particularly in relation to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, so that they can be constantly recorded by the police.

She is concerned that the crackdown has prevented police from recording anti-Semitic and Islamophobic abuse that could escalate into serious violence.

Ms Cooper will also announce this week that police officers will be given minimum standards for solving crimes including violence against women, knife crime, robbery and theft.

It will set up a police performance unit which will aim to end the “postcode lottery”, where some forces are up to six times more likely to charge an offender for an offense such as shoplifting than other police officers .

The new unit will monitor time spent on the frontline and collect data by crime type to provide a clearer picture of local performance.

It mirrors a similar initiative by Lord Blunkett, the former Labor home secretary, in 2001 and is designed to better monitor Labour’s “priority” areas such as anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls.

The force will be held to account on key metrics, including response times to calls and incidents, to ensure minimum standards are met in every area of ​​the country. Where necessary, turnaround teams will be sent to make specific improvements.

There will also be a focus on policing standards, with data collected on misconduct, vetting procedures and disciplinary processes. This will act to weed out those who are unfit to serve, while helping to restore public confidence.