In the complaint, published by The Independent, Society of Black Lawyers chairman Peter Herbert described Hopkins' comments as "some of the most offensive, xenophobic and racist comments I have read in a British newspaper for some years".

The column in The Sun.

Herbert said that Hopkins' use of the term "cockroaches" echoed the use of the word to describe the Tutsi minority and Hutu moderates during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

He wrote: "The Society of Black Lawyers (SBL) therefore requests that this matter is investigated as a matter of urgency under the Public Order Act 1986. I am aware that this section requires some intention but given the scale of the tragedy currently unfolding, the likelihood some of these migrants may already be in the UK having fled during previous months or likely to land here in due course these comments can amount to incitement to racial hatred.

"We are in the process of writing formally to the International Criminal Court to petition for an investigation into these comments under the provisions of incitement to commit crimes against humanity.