Anti-immigrant riots escalate across UK after Southport attack

In response to the unrest in the United Kingdom, which has erupted in various cities since last Monday following a knife attack in Southport, the government held an emergency COBRA meeting on Monday. The Home Secretary stated that prisons "are ready" to accommodate the "criminal minority of thugs" causing riots across the country.

Incidents where people take to the streets and attack the police have been occurring for a week in various districts of London and other British cities. This wave of dissatisfaction began with a knife attack by a 17-year-old on children attending dance classes in the seaside town of Southport.

Three girls died - 6-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. Five other people were injured. Armed officers detained the perpetrator. Seventeen-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana was charged with three murders and ten counts of attempted murder.

His crime sparked a wave of anti-immigrant demonstrations. Groups of radical right-wingers are attacking shops, libraries, and cafes, burning cars, and throwing missiles at police officers. There is unrest in several towns in England, as well as in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

In the town of Tamworth near Birmingham in the West Midlands, demonstrators attacked a hotel at the weekend where migrants seeking asylum were housed. So far, over 150 people have been arrested across the country.

In response to the riots sweeping the country, a meeting of the COBRA crisis team is taking place on Monday. The meeting, chaired by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, stated that those involved in the incidents who injured police officers, attacked mosques, and caused damage were a "criminal minority of thugs".

"We've made sure there are additional prosecutors in place, that there are prisons, that prison places are ready, and also that the courts stand ready as well. We have made very clear to the police they have our full support in pursuing the full range of prosecutions and penalties, including the serious prison sentences, long term tagging, travel bans and more," said Secretary Cooper.

Her predecessor, James Cleverly, who ceased to hold his office on 5 July this year, pointed out that the government could have made "key decisions" earlier to address the violent riots in the United Kingdom.

In a conversation with the BBC, Cleverly emphasised social media's critical role in spreading hatred and riots. "The sad truth is, there has always been a group of people driven by anger and racism, and I think it's them committing this violence," he said.

Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire from the Labour Party, claims there is no "absolute excuse" for the brutal scenes that have taken place in recent days in the United Kingdom, including Rotherham, in his county. At the weekend, Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack on a hotel where asylum seekers are staying. He promised that those involved in the attack would be held accountable "to the full extent of the law".

Two Holiday Inn Express hotels have become the target of attacks. In Rotherham, demonstrators broke into one of the hotels, setting fire to furniture and smashing windows. No injuries were reported among hotel staff or residents. In the second hotel, in Tamworth, a police officer was injured.

Riots and anti-immigrant protests, during which shops are looted, cars are destroyed, and fireworks and petrol bombs are set off, began with the spread of information that the 17-year-old knifeman is a Muslim and a refugee. He was said to have arrived in the United Kingdom by boat in 2023, but there is no confirmation.