Name and shame rioters, Prime Minister says amid bid to crack down on disorder
A “standing army” of specialist police officers is being assembled to crack down on rioting, the Prime Minister said as he called for perpetrators to be named and shamed.
Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “ramp up criminal justice” after an emergency Cobra meeting was called in the wake of a sixth day of disorder which saw rioters storm hotels housing asylum seekers.
Police clashed with crowds one week on from the Southport stabbings as the escalating violence continued over the weekend across the country.
So far, there have been 378 arrests since the violence broke out last week, with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) warning the total was expected to rise each day.
Several suspects faced charges in court on Monday, as ministers and police chiefs descended on Westminster for the meeting setting out the response for the coming days in a bid to clamp down on further unrest.
Calls for the army to be brought in have so far been dismissed, with the Government insisting the police already have the resources needed to respond.
Setting out the action to be taken after the meeting, the Prime Minister said: “The first is we will have a standing army of specialist public duty officers so that we will have enough officers to deal with this where we need them.
“The second is we will ramp up criminal justice. There have already been hundreds of arrests, some have appeared in court this morning.
“I have asked for early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved in the process who will feel the full force of the law.”
He issued a similar warning to anyone whipping up violence online as the Technology Secretary said social media companies providing “a platform for this hate” must go further in tackling it.
Downing Street also criticised X owner Elon Musk for claiming “civil war is inevitable” in the UK, with officials suggesting online misinformation fuelling disorder on Britain’s streets may be being amplified by foreign state actors.
It comes as Sir Keir addressed the nation on Sunday amid the biggest challenge to his premiership so far, telling perpetrators they would “regret” engaging in “far-right thuggery”.
The PA news agency understands the Prime Minister’s so-called standing army of police specialists is an expansion of the existing mutual aid scheme, to allow officers to be deployed around the country as needed.
How long this measure would be in place, the number of officers involved and what it will cost is not yet known.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the courts are on “standby” to ensure “swift justice”.
Although several cases were already in motion, questions were being raised about how quickly this would happen in reality as it emerged some suspects will not face court for weeks.
Staffordshire Police said two people charged over disorder in Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday were not due in court for more than a fortnight and others accused of being involved in unrest in Bristol are not due to face court until September, Avon and Somerset Police said.
Elsewhere, defendants were being brought before magistrates in Belfast, Sheffield, Liverpool and South Tyneside in the latest wave of court appearances.
Judges condemned the “disgraceful” and “large-scale mob violence” while some courts heard how defendants took advantage of the disorder to commit crime.
A woman admitted pushing over a large bin towards police in Sunderland, after getting involved when the pub where she had been drinking closed, and a man said he stole vapes from a shop that had been damaged during the violent scenes in the town after “socialising with friends”.
A 30-year-old man accused of swinging a stick at a woman during disorder outside Sheffield City Hall sobbed in the dock as he denied the charges against him.
The unrest has prompted some MPs to demand Parliament is recalled so the problems can be debated in the Commons, as it was during the 2011 riots.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews called for a “national conversation” on promoting respect for the country and each other, as it condemned the “lawlessness and thuggery”.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel said she would not feel safe in some of the areas where violence unfolded and that the racism on display was no different from that of the 1970s and 1980s.
The Home Office has brought in urgent measures to make sure mosques were offered extra protection so any threats of more attacks on places of worship could be responded to quickly.
A mosque in Middlesbrough was the latest of several to be targeted.
Organisation Tell Mama, which monitors anti-Muslim attacks, said it had called the police after it “identified more far-right threats on Telegram that seek to target immigration solicitors and refugee services” in more than 30 locations across the country on Wednesday.
Cleveland Police said patrols were being stepped up in Teesside over the coming days amid fears the area could be hit with more violent disorder.
And a court heard police believe more violence linked to planned anti-immigration protests is likely in Belfast.
Dame Priti, the Conservative MP for Essex constituency Witham, joined the Prime Minister in rubbishing claims there was “two-tier policing” in Britain, where right-wing protests are dealt with more harshly than those with left-wing influence.
The most senior police officer in the country, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, appeared to grab a reporter’s microphone and throw it on the ground when he was asked about two-tier policing as he left the Cobra meeting. Asked about the incident, the force said he was “in a hurry”.
NPCC chairman Gavin Stephens stressed police were not “anti-protest” but were “anti-crime”.
Insisting a “united and robust policing response is in place across the country”, he said: “We are doing all we can to tackle this disorder and keep you safe”, adding: “We are here to protect the public and keep the peace no matter your beliefs”.
The widespread and continued disorder broke out after three girls died in last week’s knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Merseyside Police have since said one child caught up in the incident remained in hospital but all other patients had been discharged.
Among the latest scenes of violence, anti-immigration rioters smashed the windows of the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham at the weekend before starting fires.
Masked men hurled lengths of wood, chairs and bottles with some spraying fire extinguishers at police officers amid the 700-strong crowd.
At least 10 officers were injured, with one knocked unconscious, South Yorkshire Police said. One arrest had already been made and others involved should “expect us to be at their doors very soon”, the force said.
On Sunday evening, a similar incident played out at a Holiday Inn hotel in Tamworth, Staffordshire, where reports suggested asylum seekers were also being housed, in a scene which saw fires, smashed windows and missiles being thrown at officers, Staffordshire Police said.
Earlier in the afternoon, a group of rioters in Middlesbrough smashed the windows of houses and cars and threw objects at officers, with one seen shouting a racial slur and another telling police: “It’s our f****** country.”
There were 43 arrests, with crown court and university buildings sustaining significant damage, Cleveland Police said.
Greater Manchester Police used powers amid disturbances in Bolton to order people to “remove face coverings used to disguise or conceal their appearance”.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “Firefighters were among the first to respond to the appalling stabbings in Southport last week. The FBU sends its thoughts and condolences to all those affected, especially the loved ones of the three young children who tragically lost their lives, and we applaud the bravery and professionalism of the firefighters who attended.
“It is clear that the organised far right has used these tragic events to mount a deliberate campaign of racist violence and intimidation. The attacks on mosques, hotels housing migrants and other targets in recent days have been shocking.
“This situation has been decades in the making. Mainstream politicians and media outlets have stoked anti-migrant hate and Islamophobia while driving down the living standards of most people.
“Austerity, cutting pay and trashing public services were choices made by right-wing politicians in the interests of big business – not by migrants. The new Labour Government has a duty to offer an alternative, rather than pandering to anti-migrant rhetoric.
“Firefighters are on the front line. We are still assessing the experience of FBU members on the ground, but there is evidence to suggest that firefighters have faced obstruction, and that fire appliances have been deliberately damaged. Resources being deployed to fires resulting from rioting could impact response times to other incidents.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub