Following another night of catastrophic violence in English cities, the UK government announced on Tuesday that 6,000 specialist police officers were ready to deal with far-right rioting.
After three children were killed in a mass stabbing, there have been nightly riots in several locations for the past week.
On Monday, six people were arrested and many police officers were hurt after being attacked by rioters hurling bricks and pyrotechnics in Plymouth, southern England.
Officers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, were attacked as protesters attempted to set fire to a foreign national-owned shop. Police said a guy in his 30s was seriously assaulted, and they are investigating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.
A group of guys assembled in Birmingham, central England, to protest a rumored far-right demonstration, yelled “Free Palestine” and pushed a Sky News reporter off air. She was followed by a man in a balaclava wielding a knife.
Another reporter claimed he was chased by members of the group “with what appeared to be a weapon,” and police reported criminal damage to a tavern and a car.
Unrest erupted last Tuesday after three youngsters were slain at a Taylor Swift-themed dancing lesson in Southport, northwest England.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in connection with recent clashes.
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander told BBC Radio 4 that the government had freed up an additional 500 prison spots and sent 6,000 professional police officers to deal with the violence.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to reassure the public that action was being taken.
He stated following the cabinet’s meeting: “99.9% of people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities, and we will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end.”
False rumours
Over the weekend, mobs flung stones and flares, attacked police, burned and looted shops, shattered car and home windows, and targeted at least two hotels that house asylum seekers.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) announced Monday that 378 persons had been arrested so far.
Clashes erupted in Southport the day after three young girls were killed and five more badly injured in a knife assault there.
False allegations circulated on social media that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.
The suspect was later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Wales. According to UK media, his parents are from Rwanda.
That hasn’t stopped rioters from targeting mosques, and the government has increased security at Islamic houses of worship.
In Burnley, northwest England, a hate crime inquiry was launched after gravestones in a Muslim portion of a cemetery were vandalised with grey paint.
“What type of evil individual(s) would undertake such outrageous actions, in a sacrosanct place of reflection, where loved ones are buried, solely intended to provoke racial tensions?”, local councillor Afrasiab Anwar said.
The government, only one month old, has vowed to take a tough line on the unrest.
The prime minister warned rioters on Sunday that they would “regret” participating in England’s worst disorder in 13 years.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said “there will be a reckoning”.
Cooper also said that social media put a “rocket booster” under the violence.
Starmer stressed that “criminal law applies online as well as offline”, with arrests already being made in relation to posts made on Facebook and Snapchat.
Police have blamed the violence on people associated with the now-defunct English Defence League, a far-right Islamophobic organisation founded 15 years ago, whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.
The rallies have been advertised on far-right social media channels under the banner “Enough is enough”.