LONDON — UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned the attack on an asylum seeker in a hotel that left at least 10 police officers injured, one seriously, calling it a “thug of 'extreme right', as more violence broke out across the country following the a stabbing in a dance class which left three girls dead and many more injured.
In a statement at 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, the Prime Minister promised that the authorities would “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” and that justice would be swift.
“I guarantee you will regret participating in this upheaval, either directly or those who whipped up this online action and then ran away themselves,” he said. “This is not a protest, it is an organized, violent hooliganism that has no place on our streets or online.”
Starmer was speaking after another day of far-right violence, which was particularly acute in the northern English town of Rotherham, where police struggled to contain hundreds of rioters trying to break into a Holiday Hotel Inn Express that was used as asylum accommodation. search engines
Before bringing the riot under control, police officers wearing shields had faced a barrage of missiles, including pieces of wood, chairs and fire extinguishers. A large trash can was also set on fire near a hotel window, but the small fire was put out.
South Yorkshire Police, which is responsible for Rotherham, said at least 10 officers were injured, including one who was knocked unconscious.
“The behavior we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting. While it was a smaller number of those in attendance who chose to commit violence and destruction, those who simply stood by and watched remain absolutely complicit in 'this,” Deputy Police Chief Lindsey Butterfield said. “We have officers hard at work, sifting through the considerable information online. images and footage of those involved, and they should expect us to be on their doorstep very soon.”
Far-right agitators have sought to capitalize on last week's stabbing attack by playing on concerns about the scale of immigration into the UK, particularly the tens of thousands of migrants arriving in small boats from France via of the English Channel.
Tension was also rising in the northeastern city of Middlesbrough on Sunday, where some protesters broke free from a police guard. A group walked through a residential area breaking the windows of houses and cars. When asked by a resident why they were breaking windows, one man replied: “Because we're English.” Hundreds of others faced shield-wielding police at the city's cenotaph, hurling bricks, cans and pots at officers.
Starmer said that anyone who targets people because of the color of their skin or their faith is far-right.
“The people of this country have a right to be safe and yet we have seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques, other prominent minority communities, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on police, rampant violence along with racist rhetoric, so no, I'm not going to shy away from calling it what it is: far-right bully,” he said.
The violence in recent days, which has seen a library torched, mosques attacked and flares thrown at a statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill, began after false rumors it spread online that the suspect in the dance class stabbing attack was an asylum seeker, fueling anger among far-right supporters.
Suspects under the age of 18 are not usually named in the UK, but the judge in the case ordered the identification of Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents, in part to stop the spread of misinformation. Rudakubana has been charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in connection with the disorder and likely many more as police scour CCTV, social media and body-worn camera footage. However, police have also warned that with the widespread security measures, with thousands of officers deployed, other crimes may not be fully investigated.
With so many arrests, the courts will face a challenge to process all the charges at a time when the criminal justice system is overstretched, following years of austerity and the COVID pandemic. In May, the National Audit Office warned that the courts were facing a backlog of more than 60,000 cases, while the government said last month that there should be thousands of inmates. released soon to relieve prison overcrowding.
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, said extra lawyers had been deployed over the weekend and would be working “around the clock” over the next few days to ensure justice was served. He said he has ordered prosecutors to make immediate charging decisions when key evidence is available.
“I am determined that we will act swiftly and robustly, giving the courts the maximum ability to make sentences that reflect what has happened,” he said.
Many of last week's demonstrations were organized online by far-right groups, mobilizing support with phrases such as “enough is enough”, “save our children” and “stop the boats”.
The rallying cries come from a diffuse group of social media accounts, but a key player in amplifying them is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a long-time far-right agitator who goes by the name Tommy Robinson. He led the English Defense League, which Merseyside Police have linked to Tuesday's violent protest in Southport, near the scene of the stabbing.
Yaxley-Lennon, 41, was banned from Twitter in 2018 but allowed back after Elon Musk bought it and rebranded it as X. He has more than 800,000 followers. He is currently facing an arrest warrant after he left the UK last week ahead of a scheduled hearing in contempt of court proceedings against him.
Nigel Farage, who was elected to parliament in July for the first time leader of Reform UK, has also been accused by many of — indirectly — encouraging anti-immigration sentiment. He wanted to link many of the problems that the country suffers from, such as health and housing, with the large annual increases in the country's population.
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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
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