6,000 specialist police officers ready to tackle far-right riots in UK: Government

London:

The UK government said on Tuesday that 6,000 specialist police officers were ready to tackle far-right rioters after another night of devastating violence in English cities.

There have been nightly riots in various cities for a week now, ever since three children were killed in a mass stabbing attack.

On Monday, six people were arrested and several police officers were injured when they were attacked by rioters who threw bricks and fireworks in Plymouth, southern England.

Officers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, were attacked when rioters tried to set fire to a shop owned by a foreign national. Police said the man, in his 30s, was seriously attacked and that they were treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

A group of men who had gathered in Birmingham, central England, to oppose an alleged far-right demonstration forced a Sky News reporter off the air, shouting “Free Palestine,” before being followed by a man in a balaclava holding a knife.

Another reporter said he was chased by members of the group “with what appeared to be weapons”, while police said there was also damage to a pub and a car.

Riots broke out on Tuesday after three children were killed at a Taylor Swift-inspired dance class in Southport, north-west England.

Hundreds of people were arrested in connection with the outbreak of riots.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander told BBC Radio 4 the Government had freed up an extra 500 prison places and deployed 6,000 specialist police officers to tackle the violence.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer again sought to reassure the nation that action was being taken.

He told a Cabinet meeting: “99.9 per cent of people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities and we will take whatever action is necessary to end this disorder.”

False rumors

Over the weekend, crowds threw bricks and flares, attacked police, set fires and looted shops, smashed car and house windows, and attacked at least two hotels where asylum seekers were staying.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said on Monday that 378 people had been arrested so far.

The clashes in Southport came a day after a knife attack left three young girls dead and five children seriously injured.

Initially, false rumours circulated on social media that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The suspect was later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales. British media reported that his parents were from Rwanda.

However, this did not protect mosques from attacks by rioters, and the government provided additional protection to Muslim places of worship.

In Burnley, in north-west England, a hate crime investigation has been launched after gravestones in the Muslim section of a cemetery were vandalised with grey paint.

“What type of evil individuals would undertake such outrageous actions in a sacred place of reflection where loved ones are buried with the sole aim of creating racial tensions?” said local councillor Afrasiab Anwar.

The government, which has been in office for just a month, has announced that it will take a firm stance against the unrest.

The Prime Minister warned rioters on Sunday that they would “regret” taking part in the worst riots in England for 13 years.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said there would be “a reckoning”.

Cooper also added that social media had added a “fuel” to violence.

Starmer stressed that “criminal law applies both online and offline”, and that arrests have already taken place in connection with posts on Facebook and Snapchat.

Police blamed the violence on people associated with the now-defunct English Defence League, a far-right, Islamophobic organisation founded 15 years ago whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.

The rallies were advertised on far-right social media channels under the slogan “Enough!”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)