6,000 police officers ready to quell riots in UK

6,000 police officers ready to quell riots in UK. False rumors led to attacks on mosques and Muslim cemeteries. Increased criminal justice measures and criticism of social media’s role in the unrest.

The British government said on Tuesday that 6,000 special police officers were on standby to deal with far-right riots that erupted after the murder of three children and sparked a week of violence.

Six people were arrested and several police officers were injured in an attack by rioters throwing bricks and fireworks in Plymouth, southern England, on Monday.

Police officers were attacked in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after rioters tried to set fire to a foreign-owned shop.

Police said a man in his 30s was seriously injured during the riots and said they were treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

Meanwhile, a group of men gathered in Birmingham, central England, to counter a suspected far-right demonstration, forced a Sky News reporter off air, chanting “Free Palestine,” before a man wearing a balaclava and carrying a knife chased after her. Another reporter said the suspect was chased by members of the group “with what appeared to be weapons,” and police said there was also vandalism at a pub and a car.

The violence erupted last Tuesday after three children were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northwest England.

Since then, riots have broken out in several cities and towns, and hundreds of people have been arrested in UK.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander told BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday that the government had opened up 500 more prison places and called in 6,000 specialist police officers to deal with the ongoing violence in UK.

“Anyone serving a prison sentence as a result of rioting or rioting will have a place to wait in prison,” she said.

False rumours

Over the weekend, rioters threw bricks and smoke bombs, attacked police, burned and looted shops, smashed cars and windows, and attacked at least two hotels housing asylum seekers in UK.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called an emergency meeting of ministers and police chiefs on Monday to discuss the unrest.

Speaking to media after Monday’s meeting, Starmer said the government would “strengthen our criminal justice system” to ensure “swift sanctions”.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said 378 people have been arrested so far and the rest will “be brought to justice”.

Clashes broke out in Southport on Wednesday, a day after a knife attack in the city left three girls dead and five other children seriously injured in UK.

Initially, false rumors spread on social media that the attackers were Muslim asylum seekers. The suspect was later identified as Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old born in Wales. British media reported that his parents were from Rwanda, a country with few Muslims in UK.

That didn’t stop mosques from being targeted by rioters.

The government introduced new emergency security measures for Muslim places of worship in UK.

A hate crime investigation was launched in Burnley, northwest England, after gravestones in a Muslim-only cemetery were painted over with grey paint. Local MP Afrasiab Anwar said: “What evil person would do such an outrageous act with the sole purpose of inciting racial tension in a sacred place of reflection where their loved ones are buried?”

The prime minister warned the rioters on Sunday that they would “regret” their participation in England’s worst riots in 13 years.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Monday that “there will be a reckoning.”

Cooper also said social media had given the violence a “rocket ammunition.”

Starmer stressed that “the criminal law applies both online and offline.”

On Tuesday Alexander criticised X owner Elon Musk for claiming that a “civil war” in the UK was “inevitable.”

“I think this is very irresponsible. I think everyone should call for calm,” she said. Police blame the violence on individuals associated with the now-defunct English Defence League, a far-right Islamophobic organisation founded 15 years ago and whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.

The rally was promoted on right-wing extremist social media channels under the motto “Enough is enough”.