Starmer says Government will take ‘all necessary action’ to end rioting after seventh night

“This is something that no one ever wants to see and we need to call it what it is,” he said. “This is not a protest. This is violent unrest and it needs to be treated as such, as criminal activity.”

Police have concluded that the incident, which occurred during a night of rioting in south Belfast, was a racially motivated crime, with witnesses saying the attackers stamped on the victim’s head.

A 50-year-old man is in hospital in a “serious” condition.

Petrol bombs, walls and bricks were thrown at Metropolitan Police in a “sustained attack” lasting several hours, in which a police Land Rover was doused with petrol and set on fire. Police responded by firing plastic batons, slightly injuring one rioter.

A 15-year-old boy has been jailed after being arrested on suspicion of participating in a riot.

Northern Ireland Communities Minister Gordon Lyons condemned Monday night’s violence, saying it was completely unjustified

“This must end and it must end immediately,” he said.

Similar events took place on the continent in Darlington and Plymouth, where right-wing UK Independence Party leader Nick Tenconi joined an anti-immigration protest and recorded himself urging people to take part in a counter-protest using a megaphone.

“The people of Plymouth say enough is enough! UKIP leader Nick Tenconi joins patriots in Plymouth in peacefully resisting Keir’s (Prime Minister Keir Starmer) two-tiered tyranny,” the party wrote on X, responding to claims that the authorities are brutally suppressing far-right protests while leaving anti-racism and other left-wing issues to their own devices.

“The people will not be ignored. The people are demanding change,” the post added.

Police chiefs responded by announcing an extra 2,200 officers would be deployed to the streets in preparation for more unrest as the number of online protests rose from about six planned for Tuesday evening to as many as 30 on Wednesday evening, many of them anti-immigration and anti-asylum.

Almost 4,000 police officers have already been deployed across England and Wales, many of them sent as reinforcements to areas where there have been the worst outbreaks of unrest.

The authorities have an additional 11,800 specially trained public order and anti-riot police officers at their disposal, which they can call on if necessary.

More than 400 people have been arrested since violence broke out on July 30 when right-wing groups took control of a vigil in Southport for the victims of a stabbing attack in which three girls aged six, seven and nine were killed and 10 others injured at a dance studio.

The protests erupted after false claims appeared online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker.

Since then, angry crowds of masked protesters have clashed with police every night in cities from London and Bristol in the south to Tamworth, Birmingham Stoke-on-Trent in central England and Rotherham, Manchester, Liverpool, Blackpool, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool in the north.

In some places, protesters besieged hotels housing asylum seekers, attempting to storm or set fire to premises. Mosques and the homes and property of Muslim residents were also targeted.

Violence has also broken out between protesters and rival pro-migrant and pro-minority groups, and in some cases gangs of young Muslims outraged by racist attacks and rhetoric.

The spreading unrest has also sparked international concern, with some countries issuing travel warnings to their citizens.

India became the latest to raise concerns on Tuesday after the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia told their citizens living in or visiting the UK that parts of the country posed “serious security risks”.

The United Arab Emirates warned the security situation was “volatile” and Malaysia advised its citizens not to travel to the UK

In a post on X, the Indian High Commission in London advised visiting Indians to “remain vigilant and exercise due caution when travelling in the UK” and “avoid areas where protests are ongoing”.