Prime Minister Keir Starmer blasts 'far-right thuggery' as riots grip Britain
Keir Starmer said that those responsible for the disorder and chaos that's spreading across UK towns and cities will be punished for what he described as «far-right thuggery.»
«Those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law,» he said from Downing Street on Sunday. «This is not protest, it is organised violent thuggery. And it has no place on our street or online.»
Disturbances have taken place in towns and cities including Rotherham, Blackpool and Bristol over the weekend, with a number of police officers attacked and injured. The riots represent one of the biggest challenges facing the month-old Labour government, as it struggles to rein in the unrest.
Tensions have been rising since an attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance party left three young girls dead in Southport, near Liverpool, on Monday. The attacker was named as Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old from a village near Southport who was born in Cardiff.
Fueled by an online misinformation campaign, the attack was seized upon by far-right protesters, some of whom took to the street chanting anti-immigration slogans. In Rotherham, protesters on Sunday attacked a hotel they believed was housing asylum seekers and started a fire.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged the government's «full backing» for the police in dealing with the unrest. «Anyone who gets involved in criminal disorder and violent thuggery on our streets will have to pay the price,» she said. On Sunday, Cooper announced additional measures to protect the
