The mother of one of the Southport stabbing victims called for an end to the violence after 39 police officers were injured in far-right riots that broke out after the attack on a children’s dance class.
Elsie Dot Stancombe was killed alongside six-year-old Bebe King and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar in a terrible knife violence on Monday at a Taylor Swift-themed summer vacation dance workshop.
Hundreds of violent protesters clashed with police outside a mosque in the city on Tuesday, in scenes described as “an utter disgrace” and “thugs on the streets who have no respect for a grieving community”.
Following the riots, Jenni Stancombe, mother of seven-year-old victim Elsie, pleaded on social media for the violence to end.
She wrote: “This is the only thing I will write but please stop the violence in Southport tonight.
“The police have been nothing but heroic over the last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.”
Five more children continue to fight for their lives after the tragedy, along with two dance teachers who courageously tried to defend their students from violence. attack.
The violent protests occurred after misinformation about the stabbing suspect was spread on social media. Police arrested a 17-year-old boy in connection with the attack, which is not being treated as terrorism-related.
Merseyside Police said “a large group of people – believed to be supporters of the English Defense League” – began throwing items including bricks towards the mosque in the seaside town at around 7.45pm.
Officers donned helmets and riot gear after stones and bottles were thrown at them by crowds shouting far-right slogans, while police vehicles were damaged and set on fire.
In a social media post, the force said the stores were “broken into and looted”, adding that “those responsible will be brought to justice”.
The worrying scenes sent 27 officers to hospital, with another 12 being treated and discharged at the scene, the North West Ambulance Service said. Three police dogs were also injured in the chaos.
Merseyside Police said eight officers suffered serious injuries including fractures, lacerations, suspected broken noses and concussion.
Merseyside Police Federation chairman Chris McGlade said more than 50 officers were injured in a “sustained and vicious attack”.
He added: “Police officers are not robots. We are mothers and fathers. Sons and daughters. Husbands, wives and partners.
“We were supposed to go home at the end of our shifts. Not to the hospital.
The violence occurred shortly after around 1,000 people attended a peaceful vigil for the stabbing victims outside the Atkinson arts space in Southport, with many crying as they laid flowers and memory cards.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who had laid flowers in Southport hours earlier, criticized protesters for “hijacking” the situation as he promised they would feel “the force of the law”.
“The people of Southport are suffering from the horror that was inflicted on them yesterday. They deserve our support and our respect,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Those who hijacked the vigil for the victims with violence and violence have insulted the community as it grieves. They will feel the full force of the law.”
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said there was a “strong feeling” that members of the English Defense League used the Southport stabbing to “incite hatred”.
Ms Spurrell told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that the “violence and abuse” against police officers on Tuesday was “utterly abhorrent and completely unacceptable”.
She said: “(Merseyside Police) will be reviewing footage of who exactly was there last night, they were also monitoring online activity, trying to understand who was doing what.
“They said they believe they were members of the English Defense League (EDL), but do not believe they were individuals from the region.
“There is a strong feeling that there are individuals like the EDL who have used this incredibly tragic event to incite hatred, to incite violence, and that is the result of what we saw last night.”
Patrick Hurley, MP for Southport, said the riots in the town on Tuesday night occurred because of “propaganda and lies” spread on social media about the identity of the attacker.
He added: “This misinformation doesn’t just exist in people’s internet browsers and phones. It has real-world impact.”
UK reformist leader Nigel Farage was accused of inflaming tensions after posting a video on social media questioning why the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related and asking if the “truth is being hidden from us.”
Brendan Cox, husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is straight out of the Trump playbook and, in my opinion, makes Nigel Farage no better than a Tommy Robinson in a suit.
“It is unacceptable to use a time like this to spread your narrative and spread your hate, and we saw the results on the streets of Southport last night.”
Former MP Tobias Ellwood also criticized the MPs’ comments, adding: “Disgusted as a sitting MP deliberately [inflames] tensions without any justification. Farage should delete this tweet.”
But Farage insisted that “it is perfectly reasonable to ask what is happening to law and order”.
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