Monday briefing: After 250 arrests in two days, why the UK still isn’t under control

Good morning. If there was any expectation that the far-right violence that has spread across the UK since the killing of three young girls in Southport might fizzle out, it was dashed over the weekend.

There was disorder on Saturday in Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Belfast, and then yesterday in Rotherham, Tamworth, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Hull and Weymouth. In total, police attended 56 gatherings of the far right or counter-protesters over the two days. There were assaults on police officers and bystanders, missiles thrown, shops ransacked, and – amid flagrantly racist chanting – smashed windows and the lighting of fires at hotels housing asylum seekers.

Keir Starmer called the attacks “far right thuggery” last night, and said that those involved would “regret taking part in this disorder”. He will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee this morning. As some of those charged meanwhile appear before magistrates, the most urgent question is whether the risk of those consequences will prove a deterrent – or if events now have a momentum of their own.

Today’s newsletter, with the Guardian’s Robyn Vinter in Rotherham, runs you through the events of the weekend – and how communities, police, and politicians are attempting to bring things under control. Here are the headlines.

Five big stories

1. Middle East | Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, has made a rare visit to Iran in a last-ditch effort to persuade it to hold back from attacking Israel in response to the assassination of the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran last week. On Sunday Iran insisted that there was no room for compromise and that it would make a decisive response to the assassination.

2. Israel-Gaza war | Israeli airstrikes hit two schools and a hospital complex in Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 30 people. The attack came amid reports of heated disagreements between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu about a possible ceasefire deal.

3. Special educational needs | The system set up to support children in England who have special educational needs and disabilities (Send) is in “utter disarray” and requires a complete overhaul, the local government ombudsman (LGO) has said. Amerdeep Somal told the Guardian: “The system is simply not working for children.”

4. Venezuela | The Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro has vowed to “pulverise” the latest challenge to his rule and told troops he is “willing to do anything” to protect his “revolution”. Amid growing criticism of the crackdown that followed last week’s disputed election, more than 2,000 have been arrested.

5. US elections 2024 | Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has revealed that he dumped a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park a decade ago and staged the scene to make it look like a bicyclist had run over the animal. The video was apparently an effort to get ahead of an upcoming New Yorker story.

In depth: ‘I’ve not seen anything on this scale around here. It was shocking’

In Rotherham last night, one experienced South Yorkshire police officer told Robyn Vinter that it was the worst riot he had ever attended. At the same time, Robyn told me after leaving the scene, it wasn’t a surprise. “There was a protest last year at the same hotel that got quite heated – and because there hadn’t been disorder in the last week around here yet and there have been tensions in Rotherham before, it did seem quite likely to happen. But I’ve not seen anything on this scale around here. It was shocking.”

Here’s what else you need to know.

What happened in Rotherham?

The trouble began at around midday, when a crowd started to congregate in the Manvers area outside the Holiday Inn Express, where asylum seekers are being housed. About 700 people, mostly men, smashed windows and forced a burning bin through a smashed window, as well as setting fires in the streets outside.

They clashed with the police and temporarily overwhelmed them, forcing them to retreat against a wall and hold up their riot shields for protection as missiles were thrown. The rioters also chanted racist words and surrounded a group of counter-protesters, calling one of them the p-word. They chanted “Tommy Robinson”, “we want our country back”, and “get them out”. This video given to the Times’ Tom Witherow, taken by a migrant from inside the hotel, shows a man in a balaclava pointing and then appearing to mime cutting his throat.

At least 10 officers were injured, including one who was left unconscious with a head injury and two with suspected broken bones. No hotel employees or asylum seekers were hurt.

“There were different groups taking part in it,” Robyn said. “There are those who are experienced members of the far right, a bit older and some from further afield, mostly 30s through to 50s, and they are very explicitly racist and chanting in those terms. There are some people who might not be using that language, but are sympathetic and taking part. And you have some local youths who are just seizing on this as an opportunity to go mad and attack the police and have a fight.” Others again were “mildly bewildered locals who were broadly spectators”.

What else happened yesterday?

In Middlesbrough, Mark Brown reported that about 300 people gathered at the town’s cenotaph, and that the mood was relatively calm until a large group of younger masked men arrived. They marched through town, smashing windows in shops, cars, and homes as they went. The unrest culminated in a confrontation with riot police where bricks, bottles and metal bars were thrown, and burning wheelie bins were pushed towards the officers.

Another hotel housing asylum seekers in Tamworth also came under attack. And there were violent scenes in Bolton, Hull, and Weymouth. After the trouble in Bolton, where there was a confrontation between a group of men with England flags and another group which chanted “Allahu Akbar”, the police implemented a temporary order requiring people to remove face coverings and another granting additional stop and search powers.

Across the country, more than 247 arrests have been made. “There is a real sense that people aren’t thinking about the consequences,” Robyn said. “They don’t seem to be thinking about the fact that some of what they’re doing might attract long prison sentences, and their faces are being filmed. If it’s part of a riot, it’s not like kicking a police officer in the street on a night out. Some of the younger ones are wearing balaclavas, they know what they’re doing, but some of the older ones seem to have forgotten about camera phones.”

One particularly depressing strand has been the presence of children. “I’ve seen little boys throwing rocks at the police, mimicking what they’ve seen, getting encouraged by their parents. It is extraordinary that people are bringing their kids to this kind of thing.”

What measures are being taken to bring the situation under control?

Keir Starmer made an appearance at Downing Street in which he sought to emphasise that those who have participated in the riots will soon face justice. “The police will be making arrests,” he said. “Individuals will be held on remand. Charges will follow. And convictions will follow. I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder.” Police have sought to strike a similar note, with Avon and Somerset police, for example, saying that those involved in unrest in Bristol “should expect a knock at your door soon”.

On Sunday morning, Diana Johnson, the policing minister, set out plans to have courts sit for 24 hours to deal with suspects and process them more rapidly. Meanwhile, Chief Constable BJ Harrington, the national lead for public order, told Vikram Dodd that those accused of inciting the unrest on social media, including Tommy Robinson, could also be charged.

Starmer appeared to imply the same thing when he said that those “whipping it up online and then running away themselves” would be held accountable – apparently a reference to the fact that Robinson was posting on X from a resort hotel in Cyprus.

Suspects are due to go before magistrates today. Meanwhile, as the monitoring group Tell Mama said that the surge in far right activity had been accompanied by a fivefold increase in threats to Muslims, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, announced a scheme to quickly provide additional security for mosques. 10 mosques have faced attacks or threats so far.

How are communities and politicians reacting?

One notable feature of Starmer’s comments was his willingness to describe those responsible for the violence as being on the far right – but, as Rowena Mason writes in this analysis piece, he will also be under pressure to draw a line between the events of the last week and the kind of anti-migrant rhetoric that has been part of mainstream British political discourse for years.

Meanwhile yesterday, there were calls for Nigel Farage to face investigation by the House of Commons standards watchdog over his comments questioning whether police were withholding information over who was responsible for the Southport murders – at a time when false information was circulating claiming that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker. And a Conservative shadow minister, Lord (Byron) Davies, apologised after writing of the disorder that “Labour blocked the Rwanda bill 130+ times of course it’s politically justified!”

In many of the communities that have been affected by the violence, attempts to fix the damage and reassure residents have been central to attempts to reclaim the narrative. In Sunderland, for example, crowds gathered to clean up the city centre, with one participant saying: “These people who rioted don’t speak for Sunderland and we are ashamed and embarrassed.”

In this piece for the Observer, Robyn wrote about an imam who handed out burgers to a group of far right protesters outside his mosque on Friday night – and how, while most refused to engage, at least one held a long conversation with him.

But as she also wrote that even this was an “uneasy peace”. And it is not yet clear when the wider far-right violence will come to an end.

Editor’s note: In Friday’s email, a headline stated Israel had claimed responsibility for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. We apologise for the error.

What else we’ve been reading

• For the final piece in the Gaza Voices series – which has highlighted incredibly affecting, important stories – Ruth Michaelson speaks with Hazem Suleiman, who could have been cycling at the Paralympics this summer, but instead finds himself in a war zone. Hannah J Davies, deputy editor, newsletters

• Eva Wiseman is very good on the “tradwife” fantasy, and why its nostalgic pull is so enticing to so many – even those who would never dream of making a grilled cheese sandwich from the curds while wearing white couture. Archie

• If you’re running out of new tunes to listen to, fear not – artists including Beabadoobee, Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard and Arlo Parks have recommended some of their summertime classics. Hannah

• I loved Ed Vulliamy’s tribute to the great novelist Edna O’Brien, who died last week, and his tender description of “an adventure I would be shy to call ‘friendship’, but among the more important acquaintances of its kind”. Archie

• “The idea of not working fills me with dread”: Zoe Williams meets Sam Neill, the Jurassic Park and Omen star who remains booked and busy – but also relishes going to Starbucks, where “no one bugs me”. Hannah

Sport

Paris 2024 | The world’s No 1 sprinter Noah Lyles ran the race of his life to win gold in the men’s 100m by beating the fastest man in the world this year by just five thousandths of a second.

Football | New Manchester City signing Savinho has vowed to write his own chapter in the history of the club, as he was unveiled by the club alongside Vivianne Miedema. The 20-year-old Brazil winger was signed from Troyes on a five-year deal after his starring role on loan at Girona last season, where he helped the Spanish side qualify for the Champions League.

Cricket | England have called up the Essex batter Jordan Cox and the Nottinghamshire bowler Olly Stone for the three‑Test series against Sri Lanka starting at Old Trafford on 21 August.

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