dpa
London
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed rioters would “regret” taking part in “far-right thuggery” after a fifth day of violence in England as his government announced emergency security for mosques amid the threat of further disorder.
In a televised address to the nation, the prime minister condemned an attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham and promised those involved in unrest would “face the full force of the law.”
Speaking from Downing Street office, Starmer suggested that rioters taking to the streets, and those “whipping up this action online and then running away themselves” would face consequences.
Towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland saw clashes between anti-immigration demonstrators and counter-protesters on Saturday, with police officers attacked and injured and a number of arrests made. The string of violent incidents over the past few days began on Tuesday in Southport, after three girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed event at a dance school.
Meanwhile, the Home Office announced mosques would be offered greater protection under a new “rapid response process” designed to quickly tackle the threat of further attacks on places of worship.
“People in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we’ve seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques,” the Prime Minister said on Sunday.
“Other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric, so no, I won’t shy away from calling it what it is: far-right thuggery.” Starmer 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.
“We do have standing arrangements for law enforcement which means that we can get arrests, charge remanded in custody and convictions done very quickly,” he said.
“I myself was part of that in 2011 when I was director of public prosecutions, and I’m determined we will do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice as quickly as possible.” Ministers have suggested that courts could sit 24 hours to fast-track prosecutions while police forces have measures in place to draft in extra officers to tackle potential unrest.
It comes as anti-immigration rioters attacked police and smashed the windows of a hotel in Rotherham on the fifth day of unrest in England.
Masked men launched lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers outside a Holiday Inn Express and some stormed into the hotel, with reports of a fire inside. A police helicopter circled overhead, and at least one injured officer in riot gear was carried away as the atmosphere turned febrile.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the deliberate torching of a hotel where people were known to be inside was “utterly appalling” and South Yorkshire Police have Government backing to take “the strongest action.”
