ONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday promised “swift criminal sanctions” against far-right riots in several cities that saw widespread damage and nearly 400 arrests, with fresh clashes erupting in the evening.
Starmer convened ministers and police chiefs to discuss the unrest that has erupted since last Tuesday following a stabbing spree in which three children were killed in Southport, northwest England.
Over the weekend, mobs threw bricks and flares, attacked police, burned and looted shops, smashed the windows of cars and homes and targeted at least two hotels where asylum seekers were staying in a number of cities.
The government will “strengthen the criminal justice system” to ensure “sanctions are swift”, Starmer told media after Monday’s meeting.
He said a “standing army” of specially trained police officers was ready to be deployed to support local forces should further unrest break out.
Tensions flared again at several demonstrations across the country on Monday evening, though less violent than over the weekend.
Sky News broadcast a tense standoff between far-right protesters and counter-demonstrators in the southwestern city of Plymouth, punctuated by projectiles.
Police segregating the rally reported “violence towards officers in Plymouth”, with one police van damaged.
Sky also reported that one of its vehicles was attacked by a knife-wielding man in Birmingham.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said 378 people had been arrested so far and that more would be “prosecuted”.
“I want to reassure the public that there is a unified and strong police response across the country and that we are doing everything we can to tackle this disorder,” added Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chairman of the NPCC.
The clashes in Southport came a day after three young girls were killed and five other children were seriously injured in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
False rumors initially circulated on social media that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker. British media reported that his parents were from Rwanda, which has very few Muslims.
But that hasn’t stopped mosques from being targeted, with the government offering new emergency security to Islamic places of worship.
Nationwide, there have been arrests of anti-immigration protesters and rioters who have faced off against police and counter-demonstrators, including Muslim groups.
The prime minister warned rioters on Sunday that they would “regret” taking part in England’s worst disorder in 13 years.
Cooper also said social media had given “rocket momentum” to the violence, and Starmer stressed that “criminal law applies both online and offline”.
Police blamed the violence on people linked to the now-defunct England Defense League, an anti-Islam organization founded 15 years ago whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.
In some of the worst scenes on Sunday, masked rioters smashed the windows of a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Rotherham, northern England.
At least 12 officers were injured, including one who was knocked unconscious, as they battled about 500 protesters with “far-right and anti-immigration views”, South Yorkshire’s deputy chief constable Lindsey Butterfield told media.
Rioting also occurred in Bolton, north-west England, and Middlesbrough, north-east England, where crowds smashed windows of houses and cars, leading to 43 arrests.
Protesters there confiscated and smashed a camera from an AFP crew. The journalists were not injured.
The violence is a big challenge for Starmer, who led his Labor party to a landslide victory over the Conservatives.
MPs from all sides urged Starmer to recall parliament from the summer recess to discuss the worst violence seen in England since 2011, when riots followed the police killing of a mixed-race man in London.
The rallies were advertised on far-right social networks under the slogan “Enough is enough”.
Anti-fascist protesters held counter rallies in many cities.
In last month’s election, Reform UK, led by Brexit cheerleader Nigel Farage, won 14 percent of the vote – one of the biggest shares for a hard-right British party.
