On Tuesday, the UK government announced that 6,000 specialist police officers are deployed to handle far-right riots that erupted following the murder of three children, sparking a week of violence.
On Monday, six arrests were made in Plymouth, southern England, where rioters threw bricks and fireworks at police, injuring several officers.
In Belfast, Northern Ireland, rioters attacked police and attempted to burn a shop owned by a foreign national. A man in his 30s was seriously assaulted, and police are investigating the attack as a racially motivated hate crime.
In Birmingham, central England, a group opposing a rumored far-right demonstration forced a Sky News reporter off air while chanting “Free Palestine” and following her with a man brandishing a knife. Another reporter was chased, and there were reports of criminal damage to a pub and a car.
The unrest began last Tuesday after a stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northwest England, resulted in the deaths of three children. Riots have since spread to several cities, leading to hundreds of arrests.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander announced that the government has added 500 prison places and mobilized 6,000 specialist police officers to manage the violence.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer held an emergency meeting with ministers and police chiefs to address the crisis, pledging to intensify criminal justice efforts.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) reported 378 arrests so far and warned that further suspects will be pursued.
The violence intensified in Southport the day after the stabbing, fueled by false social media rumors about the attacker’s background.
The suspect, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana from Wales, was incorrectly labeled a Muslim asylum seeker.
Despite this, mosques have been targeted, and the government has increased security for Islamic places of worship.
In Burnley, gravestones in a Muslim cemetery were vandalized, prompting a hate crime investigation.
Prime Minister Starmer warned rioters of severe consequences, and Interior Minister Yvette Cooper criticized social media for exacerbating the violence.
Cooper emphasized that criminal law applies to online actions, and Alexander condemned Elon Musk’s comments about an “inevitable” civil war in the UK, calling them irresponsible.
Police have attributed the violence to supporters of the now-defunct English Defence League, a far-right group linked to football hooliganism, with rallies promoted on far-right social media under the slogan “Enough is enough.”
