British PM threatens dire consequences as race riots escalate

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned far right rioting which has seen gangs burn buildings, attack Muslims and ethnic minorities and clash with police over the weekend.

Speaking on Sunday shortly after rioters attempted to set fire to a building with asylum seekers inside, Starmer said: “Those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law.”

“The police will be making arrests … I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder,” he said. “All right-minded people should be condemning this sort of violence.”

Riots have taken place in towns and cities throughout the United Kingdom following false information spread online that the suspect in a knife attack on a children’s dance class in Southport on Monday, in which three young girls were killed, was a Muslim migrant.

On Tuesday, rioters descended on Southport and attacked a mosque, clashing with and injuring police officers. Authorities have since said the suspect in the Southport stabbing case, 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, was born in Britain. But rioting and attacks on mosques and other buildings have continued.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “In light of the disgraceful threats and attacks that local mosques have also faced in many communities, the government is providing rapid additional support through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme, alongside the support from local police forces.”

There have been riots in Belfast in Northern Ireland, Bristol in south-west England, London in the south east, and numerous towns and cities throughout the midlands and north of England such as Blackpool, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland.

Anti-immigration rioters broke into a hotel housing asylum seekers. | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Anti-racist groups have also mobilized, organizing counter demonstrations in several towns. In Liverpool, police intervened to prevent clashes between far right rioters and antifascists on Saturday.

Later that day, rioters set a library on fire and attempted to prevent firefighters from reaching the blaze, Merseyside Police said. They made 23 arrests.

Rioting took an even more sinister turn on Sunday in Rotherham, a town beset with racial tensions following a child sexual exploitation scandal and cover-up involving a gang of mostly British-Pakistani men in the 2000s.

Anti-immigration rioters broke into a hotel housing asylum seekers, attempted to set the building on fire and blocked the exits. Police forced the rioters back, arresting one. Staff and residents were “terrified” but not injured, reported Sky News.

Rioters, including children, attacked police, causing at least 10 injuries. Some wore face coverings, others wore England football shirts and carried British or English flags. A camera operator from French news service AFP was also attacked in the crowd.