SOLIHULL: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Thursday to persist in efforts to quell far-right riots in English towns and cities, despite a relatively calm Wednesday evening.
Starmer announced that he would chair another emergency meeting with senior ministers and police leaders later in the day to prepare for potential disturbances in the coming days.
The Prime Minister said that the criminal justice system would continue to act swiftly to prosecute those already arrested during the ongoing unrest. This follows recent disturbances in which mosques, migrant-related facilities, and police targets have been attacked.
Starmer praised the increased police presence for contributing to the relative peace overnight, highlighting the importance of maintaining vigilance. “It’s crucial that we don’t let up,” Starmer said while visiting a mosque and meeting community leaders in Solihull, western England.
He stressed that additional meetings with law enforcement would focus on addressing both recent events and future planning.
In response to calls for action against immigrant support services, thousands of anti-racism and anti-fascism protesters took to the streets in cities including London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Newcastle. The demonstrations were marked by strong police presence and chants such as “Whose streets? Our streets!” in areas like Walthamstow, northeast London.
Despite the relative calm in many areas, Northern Ireland experienced its fourth consecutive night of disturbances, with five arrests and one police officer injured in Belfast. The UK government had mobilized 6,000 specialist police officers across England to address potential flashpoints after far-right social media channels called for attacks on immigration-linked sites.
The violence, which has been fueled by misinformation regarding a knife attack on July 29 that resulted in the deaths of three children, has been described as the worst unrest in Britain since the 2011 London riots. False rumors about the suspect being a Muslim asylum seeker led to widespread unrest. The attacker was later identified as Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old born in Wales to Rwandan parents.
London’s Metropolitan Police Chief, Mark Rowley, expressed satisfaction with the police and community response to the riots, noting that fears of far-right disorder were largely mitigated. Rowley described the few arrests made during the unrest as involving “thugs and criminals” with previous serious offenses.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the police and the peaceful protesters, condemning those who seek to sow division and hatred. He reiterated the city’s stance against racism and Islamophobia.
As courts began imposing jail terms for those involved in the unrest, authorities are working to prevent further violence. The riots have led several countries to issue travel warnings for the UK.
