The prime minister has vowed to do “whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” as he addressed the nation amid rioting in UK streets.
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or those whipping up this disorder online,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a televised address.
Referring to a violent attack on a hotel in Rotherham thought to have housed migrants, he said: “There is no justification for taking this action.”
Masked men had launched pieces of wood and let off fire extinguishers at police officers outside the Holiday Inn Express, and some stormed into the hotel.
“People in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we have seen Muslim communities targeted and attacks on mosques,” the prime minister said.
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Sky report from Middlesbrough riot
Sir Keir said Muslims had been targeted along with other minority communities, adding there were “Nazi salutes in the streets”.
The Home Office on Sunday announced mosques will be offered greater protection with new emergency security.
It said mosques at risk of violent targeting can be provided with additional security personnel as part of a rapid security response to boost the work being done by local police.
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Moment rioters surround police in Rotherham
Violent scenes have broken out across the country following false reports that the suspect in the death of three young girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class was an asylum seeker.
Speaking on the fifth day of unrest, Sir Keir said he would not “shy away from calling it what it is” and branded the violence “far-right thuggery”.
“To those who feel targeted because of the colour of your skin or your faith: I know how frightening this must be,” he said.
“I want you to know this violent mob do not represent this country, and we will bring them to justice.”
The PM’s approach is clear – but comes with risks
This was a clear, muscular and unequivocal statement from the prime minister.
Sir Keir Starmer did not broaden his language.
He singled out the perpetrators – the far-right.
The evidence clearly backs this up, but the fact the prime minister is saying it so strongly is still significant.
It’s the polar opposite of the “good and bad people on both sides” approach perhaps most notoriously adopted by President Trump in the wake of a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017.
The prime minister also refused to enter into a policy debate or acknowledge any of the issues that those propelling these riots say lie behind their actions.
The government is trying to draw a clear line between violent disorder and civil debate, and prevent the political discussion being led or influenced by law breaking.
This approach doesn’t come without risks though.
Singling out the actors behind this violence in such a combative way could inflame the situation further.
There’ll also be a deterrent effect though and ministers will hope that will cut through more clearly.
In such a tense situation, the language coming from government matters deeply.
Sir Keir Starmer hasn’t hedged his bets with this approach – an early test for this new prime minister.
Ministers seek to replicate response to 2011 riots
The prime minister suggested the response to the violence could mirror elements of how the 2011 riots were handled, at which time he was director of public prosecutions.
“We do have standing arrangements for law enforcement which means that we can get arrests, charge remanded in custody and convictions done very quickly,” he said.
Over the weekend, ministers suggested courts could sit 24 hours a day to fast-track prosecutions, while police forces have the ability to draft in extra officers to tackle disorder.
He added: “We will do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice as quickly as possible.”
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However, his pledge will run up against a legal system already creaking under existing pressures.
Sky News’s political correspondent Liz Bates said: “The problem for the PM of course is that what he needs right now is a criminal justice system with plenty of extra capacity so that rioters can be fast tracked through it.
“But instead he has the exact opposite.”