Starmer vows swift punishment for far-right thugs

“This is not protest, it is pure violence. We will not tolerate attacks on our mosques and our Muslim community”, said Keir Starmer today as he vowed to use “the full force of law” on all those who took part in the far-right thuggery that blighted Britain’s towns and cities over the weekend.

Almost 400 rioters have been arrested, some of whom appeared in court today, and the Prime Minister chaired an emergency Cobra meeting this morning to discuss ways to deal with racist mobs across the country, seeking to exploit the tragedy of last week’s Southport stabbing. Countries including Nigeria, Malaysia and Australia have begun issuing travel warnings for the UK amid the ongoing threat of violence. 

Scenes in Rotherham last night were especially disturbing, as a mob surrounded a Holiday Inn Express while asylum seekers were housed inside. Men in balaclavas hurled rocks at riot police, knocking an officer unconscious, while one group of rioters set the building ablaze and attempted to block an emergency exit. 

A hotel temporarily housing asylum seekers in Tamworth was also torched by rioters over the weekend, as was a children’s library in Liverpool and a Citizens Advice centre and police station in Sunderland. Mosques have been attacked in Liverpool, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Hastings. 

After the PM’s Cobra meeting today with deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, home secretary Yvette Cooper and senior police officers including Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, Starmer vowed to deploy what he described as a “standing army of specialist officers” to deal with further attacks. Though he hasn’t laid out the details of what that means in practice. 

He also vowed to ramp up the criminal justice system, for instance by pushing to name and identify those involved in the violence as early as possible, in the hope that it will serve as a deterrent to others. The Ministry of Justice has indicated that courts could sit for 24 hours in order to fast-track prosecutions – a measure also imposed after the 2011 riots in Tottenham. 

Starmer stressed today that “criminal law applies online as well as offline” – building on Cooper’s comments in The Times that those who whip up hatred on social media will face the same reckoning as rioters. Though he did not explain how the – notoriously tricky – policing of online crimes will be enforced. 

The Home Office announced on Sunday that mosques will be offered greater protection with new emergency security, allowing any threats of attacks on places of worship to be responded to quickly.

The PM has rejected calls made from MPs across the political spectrum to recall parliament – currently in recess – in order to discuss the unfolding crisis. 

The violence is unlikely to be over soon.

It is not only asylum seekers and migrants themselves who are under threat but professionals who advocate for them too. The Times revealed today that far-right organisers have used a Telegram channel to share the details of dozens of immigration lawyers, refugee charities and asylum support centres around Britain in order to stage coordinated attacks this week. Some centres – such as Asylum Link Merseyside, a Liverpool-based charity that offers support to refugees – have already temporarily shut down due to online threats and the fear of an ambush. 

The threat of counter-protests and retaliatory attacks is rising too. 

Muslim leaders in Huddersfield have warned of a “potential far-right protest” being planned in the West Yorkshire town today and have urged members of their community to “refrain from actions that could escalate the situation”.

In Birmingham, crowds of Muslim men, some in balaclavas, have gathered in the inner-city area of Bordesley Green, telling reporters they are out there to “defend” their community. 

The Hindu Council, meanwhile, has urged British Hindus to travel in groups rather than alone to worship, for their own safety, and to strengthen security at temples.

In a statement today, the umbrella body for Hindu communities warned that the riots “threaten to tear apart the very fabric of our diverse and pluralistic society.”

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