Bansri Shah, Pune
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer has called an emergency meeting on August 5 at 10 Downing Street after violent protests emerged across the UK over the weekend. These riots involved far-right groups with the anti-immigration agenda and over 150 arrests have been made.
BBC has reported that Starmer has called a meeting in the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, known as the Cobra meeting. It will involve officials including ministers, high-level police officers, and intelligence officials who will assess the situation that has arisen and decide on a plan of action to follow.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer released an emergency statement on August 4 stating that the “far-right thuggery” of the rioters would be facing severe consequences of their actions. Both the ones directly participating in the violence and the looting as well as the ones responsible for stirring up the unrest online will be held accountable. The Prime Minister has also begun arranging for emergency court sessions, extending working hours of prosecutors and including weekends for faster processing of cases.
The riots have been condemned by the Prime Minister’s office, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly appalling”. The South Yorkshire Police, where the first attack took place, have been given full governmental support in taking the strongest action against the perpetrators.
The tensions have been festering after a knife-attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport on July 29 where three young girls died and several more were injured. The suspect, Axel Rudakbana, was identified and has been charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. This information was revealed by the judge assigned to the case following social media misinformation. The accused was found to be Muslim of Rwandan heritage and the attack triggered anti-immigrant and Islamophobia sentiments across the UK.
The protestors attacked a hotel in Rotherham, South Yorkshire that they believed to be housing asylum seekers by starting a fire which saw at least a dozen police officers getting injured. Mosques are being targeted which has led the government to enhance security at places of worship and allocating a fund of £50 million for their protection. The influence of social media is being amassed with the protests being held under the banner of “Enough is enough” with anti-migrant slogans and chants.
The violence has been the worst that England has faced since 2011, with it escalating across cities including Liverpool, Hull, Bristol, Leeds, Blackpool, Belfast, Manchester, Nottingham. Incidents of bricks being thrown, hotel vandalism, shops being lit on fire as well as attacks with fireworks have been reported.