Police unit to be set up to tackle violence across UK in wake of riots after Southport stabbings

A police unit will be set up to tackle violent disorder across the country after rioting by far-right groups in the wake of the Southport stabbings, the prime minister has announced.

Sir Keir Starmer said he would not allow a “breakdown of law and order on our streets” following violent scenes in Southport, Hartlepool and London in the aftermath of the attack ,which killed three young girls who attended a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

Holding a press conference inside Downing Street, the prime minister criticised a “tiny, mindless minority in our society” who had forced a “grieving” community to “suffer twice” when they staged a demonstration in the aftermath of the stabbings.

“A gang of thugs got on trains and buses, went to a community that is not their own,” Sir Keir said.

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“[They] 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. Their community.“

Announcing the unit to tackle rioting, he said the government would establish “national capability” across police forces to tackle “violent disorder”.

“These thugs are mobile,” he explained.

“They move from community to community. And we must have a policing response that can do the same.”

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, died as a result of the attack at The Hart Space community centre in Southport, near Liverpool, on Monday.

Eight other children suffered stab wounds, with five now stable after being in a critical condition and two discharged from hospital. Two adults remain in a critical condition.

The violence started on Tuesday night outside a Southport mosque, where demonstrators attacked officers and set a police van on fire.

The disorder then spread to other locations in the UK, including London and Hartlepool on Wednesday night.

The Metropolitan Police said 111 people were arrested in London yesterday evening as flares were thrown towards Downing Street’s gates, while some threw cans and glass bottles as riot police were deployed.

Demonstrators wearing England flags waved banners saying “Stop the boats” after social media posts wrongly claimed the killing of the three girls was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker.

The Metropolitan Police said some officers sustained minor injuries and those arrested were detained for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker and breach of protest conditions.

In Hartlepool, eight people were arrested for various offences, with more expected, after protesters threw missiles, glass bottles and eggs at police.

Several officers there sustained minor injuries and a police car was set on fire.

Sir Keir addressed journalists after a meeting with police chiefs today where he said he supported them being given the appropriate powers to stop future riots.

He told journalists that the meeting this afternoon was not about “pointing the finger of blame” but to “pull together our response both to the immediate challenge, which is clearly driven by far-right hatred, but also all violent disorder that flares up”.

He said the government would make greater use of shared intelligence, facial recognition technology and “preventative action” such as criminal behaviour orders which restrict people’s movements before they attempt to take part in another demonstration.

Downing Street said local insight and data will also be used, with the British Transport Police asked to alert police forces where they see a spike in train ticket sales that could be linked to organised violent disorder.

The prime minister also said he was clear that riots that have taken place over the three locations were not “protests”.

“It’s not legitimate,” he said.

“It’s crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice. And so, on behalf of the British people who expect their values and their security to be upheld, we will put a stop to it.”

On Wednesday night a 17-year-old boy was charged with the murders of the three girls in Southport and the attempted murders of 10 others, as well as possession of a knife.

After not initially being named due to his age, this morning he was identified by a judge as Axel Rudakubana.

Rudakubana is from the nearby village of Banks and was born in Cardiff, Wales.

Sir Keir also had strict words for social media companies after the violent disorder following the stabbings was “clearly whipped up online”.

“That is also a crime,” he said. “It’s happening on your premises. And the law must be upheld everywhere.”

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