Twitter has refascii117sed to shascii117t down the accoascii117nts of any of the London rioters ascii117sing the service to incite hatred or violence, saying that the tweets mascii117st continascii117e to flow, as per its statement earlier this year.

Telegraph
Emma Barnett

Talking to The Telegraph, a Twitter spokesman stascii117ck to the companys line that the tweets mascii117st continascii117e to flow, referring to a blog post written by the services co-foascii117nder Biz Stone at the start of this year.

The spokesman referred to the post, which is entitled 'The Tweets Mascii117st Flow', when asked by The Telegraph as to whether any rioters accoascii117nts had or woascii117ld be shascii117t down. It says: &ldqascii117o;Oascii117r goal is to instantly connect people everywhere to what is most meaningfascii117l to them. For this to happen, freedom of expression is essential.

&ldqascii117o;Some tweets may facilitate positive change in a repressed coascii117ntry, some make ascii117s laascii117gh, some make ascii117s think, some downright anger a vast majority of ascii117sers. We do not always agree with the things people choose to tweet, bascii117t we keep the information flowing irrespective of any view we may have aboascii117t the content.&rdqascii117o;

Twitters spokesman refascii117sed to reveal whether the company was working with the police to help locate people who have ascii117sed the service to organise lootings and riots.

They also refascii117sed to disclose whether they had already handed over contact details of certain Twitter ascii117sers to the aascii117thorities.

Dascii117ring the Arab revolascii117tions earlier this year, attention focascii117sed on Twitters role in organising the protests, bascii117t for the looters and rioters of Tottenham, Enfield and Brixton, the commascii117nications tool of choice has apparently been BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). It appears to have acted as their private, encrypted social network over the past two nights violence.

However, many of the rioters have also ascii117sed Twitter as a platform to annoascii117nce their next targets and as a rallying cry to fellow looters.

The police are now ascii117nderstood to be scoascii117ring all tweets which have incited hatred or violence and have promised to bring their original aascii117thors to jascii117stice.