Sir Keir Starmer told police they have full support from ministers to take “all necessary steps to keep our streets safe” from “thugs” who “sow hate” as violent protests erupted across the UK following the stabbing of three girls in Southport.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the Prime Minister met with senior ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Justice Secretary and Police Minister, to discuss public disorder and unrest. observed in towns and cities in recent days.
After thanking police who responded to violence in Sunderland on Friday night, which resulted in four officers being injured, Sir Keir said officers “have our full support in taking action against extremists on our streets who are attacking officers of the police, disrupting local businesses and trying to sow hatred by intimidating communities.
“The right to free speech and the violent disorder we have seen are two very different things,” he said, adding that “there is no excuse for any type of violence.”
Starmer reiterated that the government supports the police in taking “all necessary measures to keep our streets safe”.
Far-right protesters put pressure on police in Nottingham
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said those who engage in violent disorder “will pay the price”, telling broadcasters that “criminal violence and disorder have no place on Britain’s streets”.
Blackpool: ‘Nazi scum’ chants
Cooper said: “We have made it clear to the police that they have our full support to take the strongest possible action against the perpetrators, including ensuring that there are more prosecutors, that there are sufficient places of detention and also that the courts are prepared because anyone Anyone who gets involved in this kind of disorder needs to be sure that they will pay the price.”
She promised to work with the forces to help ensure “consequences, arrests and prosecutions” for those responsible.
Asked whether she had considered dismissing parliament, as Dame Priti Patel urged, she said she had been “talking to MPs across the country” and would continue to do so.
Sky political correspondent Rob Powell said No 10 wants anyone taking part in the disorder to understand they will face “swift action” and “the full force of the law”.
Bottles, chairs and bricks thrown at agents
Protesters threw bottles, chairs and bricks at police during clashes in towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland on Saturday.
Several police officers were injured during a “serious disorder” in Liverpool city center, Merseyside Police said, with one being hit in the head by a chair.
Bricks, bottles and a flare were also thrown at officers as they lined up on The Strand in the city centre.
Another police officer was kicked and knocked off his motorcycle by a protester and others tried to kick over riot shields.
In Liverpool, a police officer was hit by a chair and led away by other officers, said Charlotte Leeming, Sky’s northern England correspondent.
Protesters attack asylum seekers’ hotels
In Hull, four people were arrested while three officers were injured during a protest in which a group of people attacked a hotel housing asylum seekers.
Humberside Police Chief Superintendent Darren Wildbore said officers “faced eggs and bottles being thrown” when windows were smashed at the hotel housing migrants.
Four men were arrested after bricks were thrown at police officers in Stoke-on-Trent and fireworks were launched amid tense exchanges between an anti-Islam group and an anti-racism demonstration in Belfast.
At least three people were arrested in Nottingham when fights broke out between opposing groups facing each other in the city’s Market Square.
Outnumbered by counter-protesters
Bottles and other items were thrown on both sides, and chants of “England until I die” and “Tommy Robinson” were drowned out by boos from counter-protesters.
In Leeds, around 150 people carrying St George’s flags chanting “You’re not English anymore” and “Paedo Muslims off our streets” were outnumbered by hundreds of counter-protesters chanting “Nazi scum off our streets”.
Skirmishes broke out between protesters and punks who gathered for a convention in Blackpool, with bottles and chairs thrown.
In Bristol, hundreds of protesters and dozens of police clashed in Castle Park, with Sky correspondent Tom Cheshire at the scene saying the large area was difficult for officers to control.
Saturday’s incidents followed violent protests earlier this week, which saw more than 100 people arrested outside Downing Street on Wednesday and 10 arrests in Sunderland on Friday night after a building near a police station was set on fire and objects were thrown at police officers.
Widespread disorder ensues a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at a community center in Southport on Monday, which left three girls dead.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, died in the attack and other children and adults were injured.
The attack was followed by a wave of online misinformation about the suspect’s background, Axel Muganwa Rudakubanafrom Lancashire.
False claims included that the Cardiff-born 17-year-old was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat.
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