Starmer tells rioters ‘you will regret it’ as far-right violence escalates in Rotherham – live

In his address to the country, Keir Starmer pledged to “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice as quickly as possible” amid the violence which has spread since the Southport killings.

He told reporters that time has been spent over recent days working with police and the justice system to “make sure that the necessary arrangements for law enforcement are in place”.

It means the system can get “arrests, charge, remand and custody and conviction done very quickly”.

Noting that he was part of that system when he was director of public prosecutions, he added: “I am determined we will do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice as quickly as possible.”

Greater Manchester police said extra powers have now been given to police after section 60 and section 60AA were authorised across Bolton until 10pm, following an early section 34 dispersal notice.

A force statement said: “Under a section 60, officers have extra powers to stop and search people in defined areas within a specific timeframe.

“A section 60AA authority allows us to require people to remove face coverings used to disguise or conceal their appearance.

“These temporary powers will be enforced until 10pm today (Sunday 4 August 2024) and have been authorised as part of our policing response to keep communities safe and prevent harm and disorder with increased protest activity.”

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said £29.4m of funding is being offered to provide greater protection for Mosques, following attacks on places of worship in riots across England and Northern Ireland.

The new rapid response process means mosques at risk of violent disorder can be offered additional security personnel, providing communities with vital support and reassurance. This will boost the work already being done by local police forces to protect these important places of worship.

Under the new process now in place, the police, local authorities and mosques can ask for rapid security to be deployed, protecting communities and allowing for a return to worship as quickly as possible.

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 and we repeat that anyone involved in this disorder and violence will face the full force of the law.”

Keir Starmer said he could “guarantee” rioters will “regret taking part in this disorder” as he condemned an attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham and branded the action “far-right thuggery”.

The prime minister vowed “we will do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” as he addressed the nation following ongoing unrest across parts of the country.

He added: “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves.

“This is not a protest, it is organised, violent thuggery and it has no place on our streets or online.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia has issued a travel warning to Malaysians in the United Kingdom, following riots in England and Northern Ireland.

In a statement, it said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the High Commission of Malaysia in London, United Kingdom is closely monitoring the series of protests currently taking place in several areas of the United Kingdom, following the stabbing incident in Southport on 29 July 2024.

“Malaysians residing in or travelling to the United Kingdom are urged to stay away from the protest areas, remain vigilant and follow the latest updates and guidance provided by local authorities.

“Malaysians who have not yet registered with the High Commission of Malaysia in London are strongly encouraged to do so immediately to ensure they receive timely information and assistance. Malaysians requiring consular assistance can contact the High Commission.”

A group of rioters in Middlesbrough walked through a residential area smashing the windows of houses and cars.

One person threw a piece of broken glass through the window of a home. Another of the group used a racial slur while shouting which car “are we going to smash next?”

Yet another replied “because we’re English” when asked by a resident why they were breaking windows.

A scuffle broke out between rioters and a small group of people whose cars were smashed.

A woman shouted “you fascist thugs” while a man who was with her shouted at police: “You’re letting them rampage through the city.”

Here is a summary of the day so far:

• Police faced scenes of violent disorder on Sunday outside a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, believed to house asylum seekers, as a large group of far-right rioters clashed with officers, setting fire to a bin, smashing windows and throwing objects. At least one injured officer in riot gear was carried away by colleagues as a police helicopter circled overhead. Videos from social media appeared to show some of the rioters storming the hotel. About 100 people turned up earlier for a Stand Up to Racism counter-protest but left before the violence erupted.

• More than 300 people started marching through Middlesbrough at 4.25pm after gathering at the city’s cenotaph. They carried a banner saying: “Tom Jones is Welsh, Axel Rudakubana isn’t” and chanted “We want our country back” as they made their way through the city centre. At one point police used dogs to keep the group back and stop them breaking through and running ahead of the officers patrolling the march. At least two people were taken away in handcuffs within the first half hour, while several pieces of slate were thrown, along with vapes and full plastic bottles.

• At least 100 arrests have been made across England and Northern Ireland, including in London, Hartlepool, Bristol, Belfast, Southport, Hull, Stoke-on-Trent and Liverpool, and some charges have been brought, with police warning of more to come once footage has been scoured.

• Keir Starmer held crisis talks with ministers on Saturday over the unrest, with justice secretary Shabana Mahmood telling colleagues “the whole justice system is ready to deliver convictions as quickly as possible”.

• No 10 has said Keir Starmer will be working from London as always planned over the coming week, rejecting rumours that the prime minister was planning to take time off despite the riots. Robert Jenrick, the Conservative leadership candidate, had called on him to “abandon this Nero-esque holiday”.

• Ministers will take a “nick them quick” approach to rioters, with plans for courts to sit for 24 hours to deal with suspects, but said there was no need to bring in the army. After violent disorder in a number of towns and cities, Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said it was “absolutely” the plan to carry out swift arrests, charging and sentencing. The approach is aimed at taking rioters off the streets as quickly as possible and to act as a deterrent.

• Merseyside police have introduced two section 60 orders giving officers greater stop and search powers in Liverpool and Southport. The orders were put in place at 2pm on Sunday and will stay active for a 12-hour period until 2am on Monday. The orders cover areas across Liverpool and Southport and are designed to prevent serious violence

• A dispersal notice has been authorised covering Bolton today until 10pm, Greater Manchester police said. The section 34 notice will mean officers have extra powers to deal with anyone taking part in causing antisocial behaviour in the defined areas. Officers will also be able to instruct and advise anyone who is causing – or very likely to cause – harassment, alarm, or distress to leave an area immediately.

• A group holding anti-immigration placards and England flags stationed themselves outside the Potters International hotel, in Aldershot, on Sunday. It’s a building believed to be used to house asylum seekers. Placards with messages such as “Stop the invasion” and “House our homeless first” were held aloft.

• Counter-protests have taken place in Rotherham and Lancaster. Campaign group, Stand Up to Racism, have organised at least seven unity rallies and counter-protests today. They are scheduled to take place in Birmingham, Bolton, Cardiff, Derby, Lancaster, Rotherham and Weymouth.

• The government has been “reassured” that police have the resources they need to deal with disorder, the policing minister said. Asked whether enough was being done to tackle the unrest, Diana Johnson told BBC News she wanted to send “a very clear message” that those involved would be brought to justice. It came as the Police Federation voiced concerns that officers may not be able to attend other incidents as they scramble to respond to the widespread disorder.

• “We’ve had riots and clashes of this nature, but they have been pocketed in particular areas of the country. We’re now seeing it flooding across major cities and towns,” Tiffany Lynch, acting national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales told BBC Breakfast on Sunday.

• Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram has condemned the “thugs” who torched a recently renovated library last night. The Spellow Lane library hub, which was opened last year to provide support for one of the most deprived communities in the country, suffered severe damage. Police said rioters tried to prevent firefighters from accessing the blaze.

• Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) assistant chief constable Davy Beck said the force is dealing with a number of reports of criminal damage, assault and arson in Belfast after violent disorder. Beck said three police officers had sustained injuries. A cafe and a supermarket in south Belfast were badly damaged by fire after attacks which followed rioting in the city. A number of cars were also burnt out as the police attempted to deal with the disorder in the Donegall Road area which lasted several hours on Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

• Irish premier Simon Harris has “expressed disgust at those flying the Irish tricolour while attacking police and spouting racism”, a spokesperson from the taoiseach’s office has said. Harris and Northern Ireland’s first minister Michelle O’Neill spoke after violent scenes followed an anti-immigration rally in Belfast.

• Stormont leaders including first minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly and justice minister Naomi Long have condemned the violence in Belfast. Stormont’s justice minister Naomi Long said there can be no place for “xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia” in Northern Ireland. Long commended the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for their response to disturbances in Belfast on Saturday and sent her best wishes to officers who were injured.

• A “small but violent” group brought “unacceptable disorder and violence to the streets of Bristol last night”, a police and crime commissioner said. “This behaviour is not protest. It is not an expression of legitimate concern. It is criminal,” Clare Moody, the police and crime commissioner for Avon and Somerset said.

• The surge in extreme rightwing activity in the past week has led to a fivefold increase in threats to Muslims, such as of rape and death, and a threefold increase in hate crime incidents, a national monitoring group said on Sunday. Muslims in Britain have been left “terrorised” by the increase in extreme rightwing activity since Monday, which is directly linked to a large increase in anti-Islamic hate crimes, according to initial analysis from Tell Mama.

• A police and crime commissioner has been criticised for saying “protest groups” in the wake of the Southport stabbings are focused on “the desire to protect Britain’s sovereignty, the need to uphold British values and in order to do this stop illegal immigration”. Donna Jones, a Conservative party politician who has been Hampshire police and crime commissioner since 2021 and also chairs the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, had said “arresting people” is “treating the symptom and not the cause”. The statement, published on the Hampshire PCC website, now appears to have been deleted

• Scenes of violence and disorder in Hull last night were at odds with the city’s “heritage for acceptance and tolerance”, the Humberside police and crime commissioner said. “The scenes witnessed are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Jonathan Evison said.

• Volunteers who turned up armed with brushes this morning to clean up the mess made during last night’s disorder are “what Hull is all about”, a councillor for the city has said. Jack Haines, who is the portfolio holder for communities, said his community is “tolerant” and “united”. Street cleaning teams in Hull worked through the night to ensure the city was open for business on Sunday. Volunteers turned up with brushes from 7am to assist council crews. Areas within the city have largely reopened following Saturday’s disorder, but a number of shops remain closed.

The surge in extreme rightwing activity in the past week has led to a fivefold increase in threats to Muslims, such as of rape and death, and a threefold increase in hate crime incidents, a national monitoring group said on Sunday.

Muslims in Britain have been left “terrorised” by the increase in extreme rightwing activity since Monday, which is directly linked to a large increase in anti-Islamic hate crimes, according to initial analysis from Tell Mama.

Tell Mama is a monitoring group that tracks complaints of anti-Muslim hate crimes. It says the increase in fear Muslims have experienced is directly linked to the extreme far right.

A total of 10 mosques, the charity says, have faced attacks or threats, including Islamic places of worship in Southport, Liverpool and Hartlepool.

The charity says people have been left too scared to leave their homes, with women wearing head coverings such as the hijab facing threats in the street.

The increases are from initial figures collected from 26 July to 2 August, and are compared with the same period last year. The data includes incidents online and in the real world.

The charity says the figure a year ago was already higher than normal because of a rise in hate crime incidents triggered by the Israel-Gaza conflict. The full data will be released soon, and the experience of Tell Mama, and the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-Jewish hate incidents, is that threats and attacks are underreported.

The PA news agency reports that in Middlesbrough, those being held back broke free of the police guard after 3pm.

Businesses including McDonald’s have locked their doors.

More than 300 people started marching through Middlesbrough at 3.25pm after gathering at the city’s cenotaph, reports the PA news agency.

They carried a banner saying: “Tom Jones is Welsh, Axel Rudakubana isn’t” and chanted “We want our country back” as they made their way through the city centre.

At one point police used dogs to keep the group back and stop them breaking through and running ahead of the officers patrolling the march.

At least two people were taken away in handcuffs within the first half hour, while several pieces of slate were thrown, along with vapes and full plastic bottles.

Some people kicked bollards into the road so that police vehicles driving in front of the group could not get through, and one man sat on the bonnet of a police car to stop it from moving.

Merseyside police have introduced two section 60 orders giving officers greater stop and search powers in Liverpool and Southport.

The orders were put in place at 2pm on Sunday and will stay active for a 12-hour period until 2am on Monday. The orders cover areas across Liverpool and Southport and are designed to prevent serious violence.

Inspector Al McKeon said:

The scenes we saw yesterday in Liverpool and Walton, and on Tuesday in Southport, were despicable. They left dozens of officers requiring hospital treatment and have already led to the arrests of a total of 33 suspects.

These orders will give officers on the ground the ability to stop and search anyone suspected of carrying weapons or planning any criminality. The ultimate aim of this tool is to prevent violence and disorder and keep the public safe.

People across the areas covered will see targeted and highly visible police patrols over the next 12 hours. I hope their continued presence is reassuring for all of our communities, and I would ask anyone with concerns to speak to those officers.”

The PA news agency reports that videos from social media appeared to show rioters storming into the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, with reports of a fire inside.

A police helicopter circled overhead, and at least one injured officer in riot gear was carried away, according to the news agency.

A right wing rally has also been taking place in Aldershot, Hampshire. A large group of people holding anti-immigration placards and England flags have stationed themselves outside the Potters International hotel. It’s a building believed to be used to house asylum seekers.

Two men were arrested after objects were thrown and racist abuse was shouted at a demonstration outside the same hotel in Aldershot earlier this week.

Images on the newswires show that at least one bin has been set on fire outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, and others have been overturned.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) assistant chief constable Davy Beck said the force is dealing with a number of reports of criminal damage, assault and arson in Belfast.

He said:

So far we have made four arrests for a number of offences including disorderly behaviour, assault on police, taking part in an un-notified procession, riotous behaviour and possession of fireworks without a licence.

There were four reports of assault made to police involving members of the public. Serious injuries, thankfully, were not reported.

Three police officers also sustained injuries as a consequence of this disorder, two officers remained on duty and one officer was relieved from duty after suffering concussion. Such attacks on officers are totally unacceptable and I would place on record my gratitude for the professional actions of officers as they dealt with yesterday’s events.

To date we have received 13 reports of criminal damage but we expect to receive more as the days progress.

Some of these reports included extensive damage caused to local businesses with windows being broken and damage also caused to vehicles parked in the local community – some of which were burnt out.

There were also five reports of arson including a bin being set on fire, youths throwing petrol bombs and fire damage to business premises in the Donegall Road area. It was necessary to evacuate an apartment block in a building set on fire, such was the recklessness of the disorder.”

More images of the violence outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham are emerging on the newswires:

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) assistant chief constable Davy Beck said those involved in disorder in Belfast will be dealt with “using the full force of the law”.

He added:

This disorder, violence and destruction has no place in Belfast or anywhere else across the streets of Northern Ireland.

I would strongly urge anyone who was involved in yesterday’s rioting and disorder to think long and hard about their actions and the devastating impact this has had on local communities.

Those who engaged in this behaviour bring nothing but shame to themselves and Belfast city. Their actions are completely inexcusable and we will be using every tool at our disposal to identify those involved.

We are now in the process of gathering evidence, CCTV and other footage of yesterday’s events and anyone who has information or who can help identify those responsible is asked to contact police on 101.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has said it “strongly condemns” scenes of violence and disorder in Belfast on Saturday.

A PSNI statement said:

A protest involving approximately 600 people had formed in the city hall area yesterday morning.

After a period of time and attempts to march to the Belfast Islamic centre, which was prevented by police, some of those at the protest dispersed into the Botanic Avenue, University Street, Lower Ormeau, Holyland and Donegall Road areas where sporadic violence developed for a period.

Throughout the course of the evening, further disorder was reported in the Sandy Row area where a business premises was also set on fire.

A number of nearby roads were closed by police to ensure the safety of the public and local residents, and to enable officers to deal with the situation and disorder safely. All roads were subsequently reopened.”