Conservative led plans to grant additional powers to the police and government to shut down social networking sites during times of unrest have been criticised by the party’s Liberal Democrat partners.

Plans outlined by David Cameron would also see those suspected of inciting violence banned from sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Authorities are mulling the clampdown to halt the spread of misinformation and gang recruitment which characterised last week’s riots.

Lib Dem backbencher Julian Huppert said: “Even if we look at these riots in isolation – always a dangerous approach to policymaking – the idea that we should prevent communication via these networks is patently ludicrous.

"The brilliant response to the riots on Facebook, Twitter and the wider internet, embodied most clearly by the website Riot Clean-Up, has arguably done more to bring communities together than anything else.”