The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to use the full force of the law against “far-right thuggery” after “marauding gangs intent on law-breaking” wrecked havoc in some towns and cities in the UK on Sunday.
A group of 700 people surrounded a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, where some of them lit a fire, broke windows, and did all that they could to get inside the building where asylum seekers were residing. Riot police were also present to respond to violent scenes in Middlesbrough, Bolton, Hull, and Weymouth, among other parts of the country.
Keir Starmer threatened to do “whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” as he spoke to the nation following the ongoing riot that is happening across the country, telling those involved they would not be scared of taking part. His speech comes after a sixth day of escalating violence in advocacy against the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport last week. 147 arrests have been made since Saturday.
South Yorkshire police said that at least ten police officers were injured in Rotherham, with one of them left unconscious after anti-immigration demonstrators threw planks of wood at officers and sprayed them with fire extinguishers.
Some members of the group smashed windows to gain access to the Holiday Inn Express, and fire was set on a large bin. The officer was knocked unconscious and has an injury to his head, the force said, adding that at least two others had suspected broken bones.
Hotel employees and residents, some of whom are asylum seekers, were “terrified,” but no injuries were reported, police said. One person has been arrested on suspicion of public order offenses.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the scenes “utterly appalling” and said police have government backing to take “the strongest action.” Meanwhile, a group of rioters in Middlesbrough smashed the windows of houses and cars and hurled objects at officers.
In Dorset, 600 people from opposing sides gathered on the seafront in Weymouth. Officers said there had been a “small number of low-level incidents,” with one man arrested for a public order offense. In Bolton, anti-immigration protestors were confronted by a group of up to 300 masked people shouting “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is greatest.” Greater Manchester Police issued a Section 60AA order in the town, requiring people to “remove face coverings used to disguise or conceal their appearance.” It will stay in force until 10 p.m. on Sunday.
The violence follows similar scenes of unrest in Southport, Belfast, Hartlepool, Hull, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Sunderland, and elsewhere earlier in the week. In a statement on Sunday, the Home Office offered mosques greater protections as part of a new process under which “rapid security” deployment can be requested to allow a return to worship as fast as possible.
Sir Keir indicated the response to the violence could mirror elements of how the 2011 riots were handled, at which time he was director of public prosecutions.
Ministers have suggested that courts could sit 24 hours a day a day to fast-track prosecutions, as they did in 2011, while police forces have measures in place to draft in extra officers to tackle potential unrest.
