Keir Starmer launches urgent restrictions on 'violent thugs' spreading alarm in UK

Sir Keir Starmer has announced a police unit will be created to tackle violent disorder across the UK which has broken out after far-right groups took to the streets.

He also warned large social media companies “violent disorder clearly whipped up online is also a crime and it is happening on your premises” following the Southport stabbings.

The Prime Minister insisted “we will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe”.

He said the riots in reaction to the stabbings in Southport are “not protest” and “not legitimate” as he vowed not to permit a “breakdown of law and order”.

Speaking at a No10 press conference, he said: “Violent disorder, whipped up online, is also a crime and it's happening on your premises."

Sir Keir said “fear is an understandable reaction” to the attack, but called on everyone to give families the space to grieve and authorities time to do their job.

He added: “There will be a time for questions and we will make sure that the victims and families are at the heart of that process.

“That’s the very least that we owe these families. But we also owe them justice. So, while there’s a prosecution that must not be prejudiced, for them to receive the justice that they deserve the time for answering those questions is not now.

“I remind everyone that the price for a trial that is prejudiced is ultimately paid by the victims and their families, who are deprived of the justice that they deserve.

“Let me now turn to the actions of a tiny, mindless minority in our society, because in the aftermath attack, the community of Southport had to suffer twice.

“A gang of thugs got on trains and buses, went to a community that is not their own, a community grieving the most horrific tragedy, and 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.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said he would like to see greater use of criminal behaviour orders, such as those used in football hooliganism cases, to crackdown on organised riots.

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

Sir Keir called for calm in the wake of the Southport stabbings and riots which have seen damage to a mosque and shops looted.

He said before the press conference that “action will be taken” following “violent disorder” in parts of England in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

The Prime Minister summoned police chiefs to Downing Street on Thursday afternoon following scenes of violent unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester overnight, while a demonstration in Aldershot saw a tense stand-off with riot police.

They included Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner Dame Lynne Owens, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, National Crime Agency chief Robert Jones, director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson and His Majesty’s Chief Inspector Andy Cooke.

Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told the meeting by videolink that the force is “determined to get justice” for the deadly attack on Monday, and to identify all those who took part in rioting on Tuesday in the seaside town.

In London on Wednesday, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.

Demonstrators wearing England flags and waving banners saying “enough is enough” and “stop the boats” had congregated outside Downing Street in the wake of the killing of three young girls in the Southport knife attack, which social media posts had wrongly claimed was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat.

The angry scenes also included loud chants of: “We want our country back” and: “Oh Tommy Robinson,” referring to the right-wing activist. One man wore a shirt with the slogan: “Nigel Farage for Prime Minister, Tommy Robinson for Home Secretary.”

The Met arrested 111 people for alleged offences including violent disorder, assaults on police officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and breach of protest conditions.

Confrontations continued late into the night in Hartlepool, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles.

Cleveland Police have so far made eight arrests, with more expected.

The meeting in Downing Street came after a 17-year-old charged with the murder of three girls in the knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class appeared at Liverpool Crown Court and was named as Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire.

He is charged with the murder of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in Southport on Monday.

He is also charged with the attempted murder of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade.

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