UK PM Keir Starmer announces crackdown on 'mindless thugs' for rioting after Southport stabbings

More than 100 anti-immigration protesters were arrested in central London on Wednesday (July 31) evening as protests following the Southport knife attack spread to different parts of the country, reports said.

The British PM called an emergency press conference in Downing Street on Thursday after meeting with senior police chiefs. During the meeting, he told them "action will be taken'' following what he called "violent disorder'' in parts of England.

Addressing the nation in a televised event, Starmer condemned those who have targeted mosques, thrown flares at the statue of Winston Churchill, and done Nazi salutes at the Cenotaph in recent days.

He made clear this was not a "protest" but was about a group of individuals who "are absolutely bent on violence". "You don't go to a protest with a rock in your hand, you go to commit violent disorder," he said.

Starmer said he will “not permit under any circumstances a breakdown in law and order on our streets” as he announced plans for police forces to work together to tackle thugs who move between areas.

He laid out plans for officers to coordinate and share intelligence and data across different locations to restrict the movements of criminals “before they can even board a train, in just the same way that we do with football hooligans”.

The PM said support for this will include a “wider deployment of facial recognition technology and preventative action”.

He also warned social media platforms against spreading misinformation and hatred, which have been blamed for sparking violent disorder after stabbings in Southport on Monday.

“Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them," Starmer said. "Violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, is also a crime. It’s happening on your premises and the law must be upheld everywhere."

Meanwhile, Axel Rudakubana, 17, who hails from Banks in Lancashire, has been charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, in Southport. The attack happened at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street.

Starmer said: “In the aftermath of this attack, the community of Southport had to suffer twice. A gang of thugs got on trains and buses and went to a community that is not their own, a community that is grieving the most horrific tragedy, and then proceeded to throw bricks at police officers. Police officers who just 24 hours earlier had been having to deal with an attack on children in their community.”

According to reports, law-enforcement officials clashed with protesters last evening on Whitehall, close to Downing Street, during a demonstration, following which police had to arrest dozens of agitators to bring the situation under control.

Protests also broke out in the port town of Hartlepool where at least eight people were arrested, several police officers were injured and a police vehicle was set on fire.

Earlier, Cleveland Police stated that several of its officers were also hurt in Hartlepool after violence broke out in the town, adding that eight protesters were taken to custody in relation to public order offences after agitators threw glass bottles and eggs at police officers, and torched a police car.

Commenting on the Cleveland arrests, Chief Superintendent of Cleveland Police, David Sutherland said, "At this stage we believe the protest is in connection with the incident in Southport earlier this week."

Cleveland Police said the force "expects further arrests to be made in the coming days" if protests continue to spread.