Police in England and Northern Ireland have arrested nearly 400 people following six days of riots in various parts of the country, in which dozens of police officers were injured and buildings and vehicles were damaged. False rumors that a Muslim asylum seeker was responsible for a stabbing attack that killed three children in Southport led to the unrest. Over the weekend, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the riots as “far-right thuggery” and pledged to “ramp up” the law to address them.
On Monday, Plymouth saw police attacked and a van damaged, while petrol bombs were thrown at officers in Belfast, and unrest occurred in east Birmingham. In Birmingham, occupants of vehicles were attacked and a pub was damaged, and Palestinian flags were flown while anti-English Defence League chants were heard.
Police officials have warned individuals who are intending to commit crimes during riots will receive forceful treatment. Several officers have been injured already in Plymouth, and a number of arrests have been made of people accused of public order offenses and assaults. Nationwide, around 378 arrests have taken place to date. A “standing army” of specialist police officers is ready to deploy in preventing any further unrest in the country, according to Sir Keir, leader of the opposition Labour Party.
Some of the rioting has included “serious acts of violence designed to cause terror to a section of our community,” says former head of counter-terrorism at London’s Metropolitan Police, Neil Basu. Social media companies are being called upon by the government to ensure misinformation and disinformation is removed. The first people who have been charged in connection with the riots have appeared in courts, and the police continue to work around the clock to identify and arrest more people
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