What Starmer said about 'mindless' rioting in wake of Southport killings
Violent incidents linked to the deaths of three young girls in Southport were also seen in Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot on Wednesday.
The prime minister has condemned the behaviour of a "mindless minority" as he announced a clampdown on their actions following a second night of unrest across England.
Keir Starmer said a new "capability" would be created to track the movements of the far-right protesters who stream into protest locations from around the country. The new team would be able to cross jurisdictions and track them.
The PM said: "Make no mistake, whether it’s in Southport, London or Hartlepool these people are showing our country exactly who they are. Mosques targeted because they’re mosques, flares thrown at the statue of Winston Churchill, a Nazi salute at the Cenotaph."
More than 100 people were arrested in central London on Wednesday night as protests also popped up in Manchester, Hartlepool and Aldershot following similar unrest in Southport on Tuesday.
Axel Rudakubana has been charged with killing Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at the attack in Southport on Monday. He has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder.
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> Starmer announces setting up of new violent disorder unit
> Starmer warns social media firms over misinformation
> Far-right flourishes on the streets
> Southport shows the best and worst of British society
> The areas in England where riots have broken out
Starmer announces setting up of new violent disorder unit
Speaking during a press conference held after the meeting with senior police chiefs, Sir Keir thanked police officers who “stood up to intimidation and violence”.
He said the meeting was held to “pull together our response, response both to the immediate challenge which is clearly driven by far-right hatred, but also all violent disorder that flares up whatever the apparent cause or motivation”.
The unit will aim to boost intelligence gathering and sharing on looming trouble and comes after police were surprised by the scale of disorder on Tuesday in Southport, with further disorder in London and Hartlepool on Wednesday.
Read the full article from The Guardian here (1 August)
Sir Keir Starmer has warned social media “carries responsibility” over tackling misinformation in the wake of violent protests around the country following the stabbings in Southport.
He said that it was important for Government and tech firms to “work together” to keep the country safe, saying government “blaming everybody else and pointing fingers” does not work well.
The Prime Minister said “there is a discussion to be had” about companies striking the “right balance”, warning social media “carries responsibility”, but suggested he wanted to “work together” to keep the country safe.
Far-right flourishes on the streets
The police have already made several arrests following despicable violence that broke out in Southport earlier this week in the wake of the mass stabbing of children at a Taylor Swift holiday party. They continue hunting down the other perpetrators — but the harder question is how to deal with the rise of the far-Right. Its thuggish supporters were behind the disorder, and the spread of disinformation and fake news that is fuelling such extremism.
The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said that she will examine calls for the English Defence League to be placed alongside other far-Right groups such as National Action on the list of proscribed terrorist organisations.
Few, other than their bigoted followers, would miss them and after their recent displays of violence in London, carried out largely in reaction to the pro-Gaza protests. It would undoubtedly be a relief to police not to face further violence and to have a new weapon to go after the group’s ringleaders.
Southport shows the best and worst of British society
Following the senseless attack on children at a local dance school, unfounded speculation soon swirled across social media, seeking to link the stabbings to the local Muslim community. Not content with spreading lies online, the far right disrupted a local vigil to the three dead girls and their critically wounded friends and teachers, seeking to attack a local mosque. Across several hours, suspected members of the English Defence League would chant racist nonsense, damage property, threaten residents and injure dozens of police officers.
It is very easy, in the aftermath of such chaos, to dismiss these actions as merely the behaviour of a cretinous fringe who otherwise have no influence in today’s Britain. But we all know that is not true. The previous government repeatedly played with fire when it came to demonising Islam.
Read the full story from CITY AM (1 August)
The areas in England where riots have broken out
Hundreds of rioters descended on the grieving seaside town on Tuesday night, barely 36 hours after a knifeman murdered three girls – Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven – and injured eight other children and two adults at the Hart Space dance and yoga studio on Monday afternoon.
The riots are believed to have been encouraged by disinformation spread online about the identity and motives of the suspect, a 17-year-old boy from a nearby village, who was named on Thursday morning as Axel Rudakubana.
Read the full story from The Guardian (Published 1 August, 12.53pm)
