Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer has pledged a “standing army” of specialist officers to stamp out the riots across several cities in the country — he termed it “far-right thuggery” — that have followed the shocking murder of three little girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, who has been charged with the three murders and other attempted murders, was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents. However, initial misinformed social media posts claimed that he was a refugee who arrived last year on a small boat. That has triggered widespread anti-immigration riots.
Southport residents, including the mother of one of the girls who was killed, have called for the protesters to stop.
Starmer’s statement comes after an emergency COBRA meeting of senior ministers and police chiefs yesterday.
The emergency Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA) meeting, which included Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Scotland Yard chief Mark Rowley, was called to discuss the future course of action to curb the violence and also to ensure speedy judicial processes to deal with the suspects being arrested.
“There were a number of actions that came out of the meeting. The first is we will have a standing army of specialist officers, public duty officers, so we will have enough to deal with this where we need them,” Starmer told reporters after the meeting held at 10 Downing Street in London.
“The second is, we will ramp up criminal justice. There have already been hundreds of arrests. Some of them have appeared in court [on Monday] morning. I’ve asked for the early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved in the process, who will feel the full force of the law,” he said.
Starmer also emphasised that the law applied equally to social media users who were committing criminal acts of whipping up hate online.
“In relation to the police, I am absolutely clear that we will have the officers we need, where we need them, to deal with this disorder. That is why the standing army has been set up, specialist officers ready to be deployed to support communities,” he added.
UK reels under large-scale riots
Hundreds of arrests have been made as police officers in riot gear responded to violent scenes in Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Bolton, and other parts of the UK on Sunday, after days of some of the worst rioting seen on the streets of the country in the wake of the fatal stabbings.
Hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques have been among the targets of the anti-immigrant mobs, after initial false claims spread online regarding the stabbing suspect being an illegal immigrant.
“I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we have seen this weekend. Be in no doubt: those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law,” Starmer had said in a statement on Sunday.
There is no justification — none — for taking this action, and all right-minded people should be condemning this sort of violence. People in this country have a right to be safe and yet, we’ve seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques, other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, [and] wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric. So, no, I won’t shy away from calling this what it is: far-right thuggery.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
The Home Office has announced that mosques would be offered greater protection with new “emergency security” that can be rapidly deployed to respond to violent disorder targeting places of worship.
“They do not speak for our communities. It’s a total disgrace and there has to be a reckoning. Those individuals who are involved in the disorder need to know that they will pay a price,” said Cooper.
The home secretary indicated that additional prosecutors and courts were on standby to charge those being arrested for a series of offences.
“We have made [it] very clear to the police that they have our full support in pursuing the full range of prosecutions and penalties, including the serious prison sentences, long-term tagging, travel bans and more,” she said.
‘Scapegoating’ of immigrants
Amnesty International UK warned against the anti-immigrant rhetoric that preceded the rioting of last week and cautioned against labelling the violent attacks as “anti-immigration”.
“The racist violence we are now seeing on our streets has been preceded by an intense period of ‘scapegoating refugees and migrants’ by politicians and others — in dangerous rhetoric and policy. I hope those who spread that rhetoric look at the consequences of their words and learn,” said CEO Sacha Deshmukh.
During clashes over the weekend, cars were set alight, windows smashed, large bins burnt and hurled at officers and stores looted.
Masked anti-immigration mobs broke into a hotel housing asylum-seekers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and rocks and long pieces of wood were thrown at police officers who lined up in front of the building as they tried to protect it. Several police officers have suffered injuries as they faced off with the mobs.
“The mindless actions of those today have achieved nothing other than sheer destruction and leaving members of the public and the wider community in fear,” said Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield of South Yorkshire Police.
