LONDON
A night of troubles in three British cities which saw dozens of arrests forced Prime Minister Keir Starmer to convence an emergency meeting with police leaders on Thursday.
Far-right elements have staged protests which have seen cars burned and crowds outside Starmer’s official residence since a mass stabbing in a seaside town on Monday in which three small girls were killed.
Starmer “will convene senior policing leaders in Downing Street today to offer them the government’s full backing following multiple high-profile incidents of extreme violence and public disorder on our streets”, an official statement said.
Protests on Wednesday night rocked London, and the northern cities of Hartlepool and Manchester, with over 100 people arrested in the British capital in a far-right protest over the government response to Monday’s stabbing in Southport.
“Over 100 people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions,” London’s Metropolitan police said, adding that some officers suffered minor injuries.
Tensions flared at the demonstration outside Starmer’s 10 Downing Street residence, with scuffles, bottles thrown at the police, and shouts of “shame on you”.
One protester told AFP that the girls being killed was the “last straw. We’ve had enough”.
In Hartlepool, northeast England, demonstrators set police cars on fire and threw objects at the officers, with police saying eight arrests were made.
Hartlepool police said officers faced having “missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them, with several suffering minor injuries.”
The stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday shocked the whole country, with eight other children suffering from injuries.
‘Full force’
The incident also fuelled social media misinformation about the identity and background of 17-year-old suspect, contributing to far-right violent clashes in Southport on Tuesday night and left 53 police officers injured and targeted a local mosque.
The teenager was formally charged on Wednesday with murder and attempted and will appear in court on Thursday in Liverpool.
At the protest in London on Wednesday, far-right chants included the crowd shouting “we want our country back” and “stop the boats”.
At the meeting with police leaders, Starmer will say the events at Southport “serve as a reminder of the bravery of our emergency service workers and the vitally important work they do to keep the public safe,” the statement by the prime minister’s office said.
He will also say that while the right to protest must be protected, “criminals who exploit that right in order to sow hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law”.
The Labour government has vowed to clampdown on crime and antisocial behaviour, with interior minister Yvette Cooper promising policies including ramping up the presence of community police “in every corner of the country”.
Starmer will tell police leaders “that they should not hesitate to use their powers to stop mindless violence in its tracks and make sure justice is served,” the statement said.