The group of campaigners posed as hardcore Stones superfans to get access to the online subscription fan club IORR (named after their song It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll) before relentlessly hammering fans and discussion threads with angry political trolling posts slamming the song’s reference to slavery.

The aggressive assault on the 40-year-old club caused such a wave of hysteria among the fanbase and management that the band members felt compelled to make an announcement that the track would no longer be performed.

Guitarist Keith Richards, 77, seemed utterly dumbfounded by the sudden and apparently inexplicable level of hatred for the No 2 hit, which he defended, insisting the lyrics were a condemnation of the slave trade.

Asked why they had not played it on their current tour, he said: ‘You picked up on that, huh? I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is.’