UK's Starmer vows not to ease efforts to stop further far-right unrest

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Thursday not to ease his efforts to stop further far-right unrest in English cities after expected street violence failed to materialise.

The UK leader said that despite a generally peaceful evening on Wednesday, he would hold another emergency meeting of senior ministers and police chiefs later on Thursday to discuss potential problems in the “coming days”.

He also said the criminal justice system would continue to “work swiftly” to convict those already arrested during a week of near-nightly unrest across England and Northern Ireland.

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It comes after a judge in Liverpool, north-east England, jailed more people involved in the riots, which saw attacks on mosques and migrant sites as well as police and other targets.

“It is important that we do not give up,” Starmer told media during a visit to a mosque and meeting with community leaders in Solihull, western England.

“That's why later today I'm having another… meeting with law enforcement, with senior police officers, to make sure that we reflect on what happened last night and also plan for the coming days.”

Starmer said “police deployed in the right numbers in the right places and giving confidence to communities” had helped quell the unrest overnight.

Instead of the expected far-right gatherings at dozens of locations linked to immigrant support services, thousands took to the streets to protest racism and fascism.

– “Show of force” –

They gathered in significant numbers, holding rallies in cities including London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle.

“Whose streets? Our streets!” chanted thousands of people in Walthamstow, north-east London, where hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters joined a rally under heavy police surveillance.

However, Northern Ireland has seen further riots, the fourth in a row.

Five people were arrested and one police officer was injured during the riots in Belfast.

The UK Government have deployed 6,000 specialist police officers across England to respond to dozens of potential flashpoints after far-right social media channels called for attacks on a number of immigration-related websites.

The violence was fuelled by misinformation spread on social media about the alleged perpetrator of the July 29 stabbing that left three children dead.

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London's Metropolitan Police Chief Mark Rowley, who ordered thousands of officers onto the streets of the capital on Wednesday, said he was “very pleased” with the way police and local communities had responded to the unrest.

“I think the show of force from the police and, frankly, the show of unity from communities has enabled us to overcome the difficulties we have faced,” he told British broadcasters.

Rowley said there had been a small number of arrests due to “some local criminals” behaving anti-socially in some areas, but concerns about “far-right disorder” had diminished.

– “Sowing Hatred” –

On Thursday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan thanked the “heroic police working around the clock” and “those who came out peacefully to show London is united in the fight against racism and Islamophobia.”

“And to those far-right thugs who still intend to sow hatred and discord: you will never be welcome here,” he added in X.

Courts began issuing jail sentences for those responsible for the riots on Wednesday as authorities sought to prevent further unrest.

The riots, the worst in Britain since the 2011 London riots, saw hundreds of people arrested and at least 120 charged, prompting a number of countries to issue travel warnings for the UK.

London police said on Thursday that officers had made 10 more arrests overnight, a week after protests outside Downing Street in Westminster turned violent.

Rowley, who joined the morning raids, said those arrested were “not protesters, patriots or decent citizens.”

“They are bandits and criminals,” he said, adding that most of them had previous convictions for weapons possession, violence, drugs and other serious crimes.

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Riots broke out after three girls – aged nine, seven and six – were killed and five others were seriously injured in a stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, north-west England.

False rumours spread on social media that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The suspect was later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, a native of Wales.

British media reports that his parents are from Rwanda, where the vast majority of the population is Christian.

© Agence France-Presse