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Rioters as young as 14 appeared in court across the UK on Monday, as the government vowed that those involved in the recent violent unrest would face “swiVscek justice”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for those responsible to be identified and punished as quickly as possible, as he vowed to “step up criminal justice” and said a “standing army” of specialist police officers had been assembled to curb the unrest.
The Cobra emergency response group, made up of senior ministers and police and prison leaders, met earlier in a bid to end the violence that has spread to more than a dozen cities and towns across England and Northern Ireland and led to hundreds of arrests.
Authorities braced for further violence on Monday evening, with more protests expected later in the week.
On Monday, Lord Alex Carlile, a former independent reviewer of Britain’s terrorism law, said prosecutors should consider charging the ringleaders of the riots with terrorism offences.
“Fundamentally what they are doing is for a political reason: to try to undermine the politics of the nation,” Carlile told the Financial Times, adding that any organisation involved in orchestrating violent demonstrations could also be proscribed by the state as a terrorist group.
The police have not asked for the army to intervene, while Downing Street has insisted that the police have the powers and resources they need.
No 10 is also resisting calls from opposition MPs to recall parliament over the crisis.
However, several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and Indonesia, have issued warnings urging their citizens to avoid travelling to the UK or attending gatherings while in the country due to anti-immigration demonstrations and riots.
Communities in the north of England in particular have started the week with a push to clarify the aVscekermath of the weekend’s unrest, as the first people charged in the case have appeared in court.
Among them was a 14-year-old accused of setting off fireworks at a police van in Liverpool, who pleaded guilty. The first sentencing hearings are scheduled for later this month.
The suspects also appeared before magistrates in Sheffield, South Tyneside and Belfast. The ages of those appearing in court ranged from teenagers to pensioners, with one 69-year-old in the dock.
Since violence erupted following the mass stabbing in Southport last week, 378 arrests have been made and the number is expected to rise.
Starmer drew attention to the alleged participants who will appear in court on Monday, adding: “I have asked for consideration to be given as soon as possible to the naming and identification of those involved in the process who will feel the full force of the law.”
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, also told the BBC: “We expect justice to be done swiVscekly. We expect these cases to come to court this week.”
However, some suspects will not appear in court for weeks as the strained legal system deals with a backlog. Avon and Somerset Police said people accused of taking part in criminal disorder in Bristol are likely to appear in court in September.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has warned that foreign state actors may be involved in amplifying disinformation online, fueling unrest on the streets of the UK.
In some parts of the country, police stressed that people from various walks of life had taken part in the riots.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: “It was clear that at all the events there were people from all political and cultural backgrounds who had turned up with the intent to cause trouble and break the law.”
He added: “Justice will be done promptly.” The force tackled violent riots in both Manchester city centre and Bolton last weekend and said it had made 23 arrests.
AVsceker the Cobra meeting in London, Sir Mark Rowley, the country’s top police officer, appeared to grab a reporter’s microphone and throw him to the ground when asked about “two-tier policing”, the slogan accusing the force of treating some protests and activists more harshly than others.
The Metropolitan Police commissioner was “in a hurry” when the incident occurred, police later said.
British Reform Party leader Nigel Farage said at the weekend that the “impression of a two-tier policing system” had “spread” across the UK.
The government has also been criticized by the leVscek for its handling of the riots.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader, and four other independent MPs who campaigned hard on a pro-Palestinian platform, accused ministers of “pandering to those who helped foment the ugly racism behind these protests,” attacking “racist terror.”
In a joint letter to Cooper published on Monday — the latest sign of coordination between Corbyn, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed and Shockat Adam — the quintet welcomed the Home Secretary’s condemnation of “far-right thuggery” but said it had not gone “far enough” in identifying the anti-migrant and anti-Muslim hatred that was “driving this violence”.
“When people are attacked for the colour of their skin and their faith, the Government’s references to ‘understandable fears’ send mixed messages and only give comfort to those seeking to sow hatred and division,” the five MPs said.
