UK riots: Police officer filmed telling men 'stash weapons in mosque'

Police are reviewing video footage in which a police officer advised a group of men to "discard any weapons" at a mosque, to avoid being arrested.

The officer was filmed in a video, which was livestreamed on TikTok, addressing a crowd of men outside the Darul Falah mosque in Hanley, near Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday.

Instead of arranging a search of the group to see if any had committed the offence of possession of an offensive weapon in public, for which they could be arrested and charged, the officer appeared to give them an amnesty.

Speaking through a loudspeaker, he is heard to say: "If there is any weapons or anything like that, then what I would do is discard them at the mosque.

"Don't give anybody any reason to have any interaction with police, so if there is any weapons, get rid of them and we won't have to arrest anyone."

The clip, which has been shared widely on social media, has fuelled claims of a two-tier policing system between rioters and members of the community.

Steve Perkins, a former Met Police officer, posted on X: "The officer tells people to leave weapons at the mosque and nobody will be arrested. I can see why there is an argument re two tier policing."

Another aimed their post at Kier Starmer and police adding: "With weapons yet no arrests, why?

"We see this as two-tier policing."

But, a third appeared to support the approach adding: "Never heard of a weapons amnesty?"

Trouble flared the same day between far right protesters and counter-protesters in the vicinity of the mosque, as scenes turned violent.

Riot police were deployed to the scene in huge numbers and Staffordshire Police struggled to keep the groups apart as there were fights and missiles were hurled.

Asked about the video by Express.co.uk today, a Staffordshire Police spokesperson said: "We recognise that some footage shared on social media has gained traction and impacted on public confidence, particularly surrounding a protest liaison officer giving words of advice to a group in Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday.

"We are actively reviewing this footage and all of the material available.

"We will address any lessons to be learned and assess whether the action taken was proportionate while we continue to reassure people in the local community."

A senior investigating officer has been appointed to carry out a post-incident investigation into the overall disorder, the force said.

The events followed a week of violence across the country in protests organised by far-right and anti-immigration groups.

Hartlepool riots escalated on Wednesday evening, along with London and Manchester, while another took place in Sunderland on Friday night.

The rioting was sparked in Southport on Tuesday after the shocking knife murders a day earlier of three little girls, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6.

Eight other children and two adults were seriously injured in the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town.The events followed a week of violence across the country in protests organised by far-right and anti-immigration groups.

Axel Rudakubana, 17, who was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Rwandan parents, has been charged with the three murders and ten counts of attempted murder.