UK: Starmer to chair emergency meeting over far-right riots

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, will chair an emergency "Cobra" meeting on Monday to discuss the government's response to far-right rioting which continued across the country this weekend.

Pockets of violence broke out in several British towns and cities over the past week after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport in northwest England last Monday.

A 17-year-old boy named as Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Rwandan parents, has been arrested and charged with three counts of murder, a further 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possessing a blade.

More than 150 people were arrested over the weekend alone after anti-immigration protesters clashed with police, looted shops and tried to attack mosques, with many chanting far-right, racist and Islamophobic slurs.

Home Secretary condemns 'disgraceful scenes'

Speaking on breakfast television in the UK on Monday morning, the Home Secretary – the interior minister – Yvette Cooper promised there "will be a reckoning" for those responsible for what she called "disgraceful scenes."

"Nobody should have to put up with this," she said. “Lots of people have concerns and views about crime, about the NHS [National Health Service], about immigration, but they don't pick up bricks and throw them at the police, they don't try and set light to a hotel where people are known to be inside it, they don’t loot shops as a result."

Cooper said those involved in the disorder "do not speak for Britain" but praised those people who have helped to clean up and repair damage.

"Right across the country, we've seen people coming out in our towns and cities to clean up, to make sure they can rebuild the wall in front of the mosque, to make sure that they can clear up the debris and the damage that's been left from the fires," she said. "Those are the people who speak for Britain."

What is a 'Cobra' meeting?

"Cobra" stands for "Cabinet Office Briefing Room A," where the UK government convenes emergency response meetings in times of urgent crisis.

Cobra meetings involve government ministers, senior civil servants, police chiefs, intelligence officers and any other relevant officials deemed appropriate for the issue in question.

Cobra meetings were held regularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance.

The acronym has nothing to do with the venomous snake of the same name.

UK: what happened in over the weekend?

Police in the northern English city of Rotherham struggled to hold back a group of far-right activists on Sunday, who broke into a hotel believed to be housing asylum-seekers.

Footage aired on British TV showed officers with shields targeted by a barrage of projectiles outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, near Sheffield.

A few minutes later, the protesters can be seen storming the building and removing chairs from inside to use as weapons.

A small fire was also visible while windows in the hotel were smashed.

At least one officer was injured in the confrontation.

Late Sunday, Staffordshire police said another hotel known to have sheltered asylum-seekers was targeted near Birmingham.

"A large group of individuals" have been "throwing projectiles, smashing windows, starting fires and targeting police" at the hotel in the town of Tamworth, with one officer injured, said the statement.

There were more anti-immigration protests and counter-demonstrations elsewhere, including the northeastern city of Middlesborough, where officers used police dogs to control the crowd.

In the cities of Liverpool, Bolton and Southport — where the mass stabbing took place — the police were granted the right to issue dispersal orders, allowing them to stop protests from taking place on Sunday.

UK PM says far-right rioters will 'regret' actions

Prime Minister Starmer condemned the attack on hotels housing asylum-seekers and described it as "far-right thuggery."

"We will do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice," said Starmer.

"These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community, and we must have a police response that can do the same."

"Mosques being attacked because they're mosques — the far-right are showing who they are. We have to show who we are in response to that."

Britain's Home Secretary (or interior minister) Yvette Cooper called the "criminal, violent attack" on the hotel "utterly appalling: Deliberately setting fire to a building with people known to be inside."

She said police had "full Government support for the strongest action against those responsible." 

Dozens arrested during Saturday's riots

Close to 100 people were arrested after skirmishes broke out at far-right rallies in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland on Saturday.

In Liverpool, in the northwest, protesters threw chairs, flares and bricks at police officers. Manchester also saw clashes between officers and rioters. 

In the city of Hull, protesters broke windows of a hotel that was housing migrants, the BBC reported. 

In Belfast, fireworks were thrown due to a clash between an anti-Islam group and anti-racism protesters.

Opposing groups also faced off in the cities of Nottingham and Bristol.

In Leeds, anti-immigration protesters carrying British flags chanted, "You're not English anymore." They were met with counter-protesters shouting, "Nazi scum off our streets."

On Friday, Sunderland saw violence erupt as a police station and an overturned car were set on fire.

In London, a pro-Palestinian demonstration was carried out as usual despite counterprotesting nearby.

Why did the riots break out?

The riots began last week due to misinformation over a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party at a studio in Southport, a seaside town in northwest England.

Three children were killed in the knife attack, and 10 other people — eight of whom were children — were injured.

A 17-year-old boy, Axel Rudakubana, has been charged with several offenses, including the girls' murder, which happened during a Taylor Swift-themed workshop.

Rudakubana is accused of killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, and injuring another 10 people.

Since the Southport attack, far-right social media channels have been awash with false claims that the suspect was an asylum-seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.

Police have emphasized that Rudakubana was born in Britain.

He was remanded to a youth detention center and will next appear in court in October.

The unrest is seen as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's first major test after joining office less than a month ago. He has condemned the violence and said thugs were "hijacking" the nation's grief. 

Police believe the English Defence League, an anti-Islam organization, is behind the violence. Anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate says it has identified 30 more such events set to take place over the weekend.

mm, tg, rc/msh (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)