Second hotel targeted by masked rioters as PM condemns 'far-right thuggery'
Rioters attacked police officers and targeted a hotel in Rotherham, ITV News reporter Peter Smith has the latest
Sir Keir Starmer has condemned an attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham and vowed that those involved in "far-right thuggery" would "regret taking part in this disorder".
In a televised address to the nation on Sunday, the prime minister branded the action "far-right thuggery" following ongoing disorder across parts of the country.
Holiday Inn hotels were targeted in Rotherham and later in Tamworth on Sunday, and crowds gathered outside a mosque in Middlesbrough.
Starmer suggested that rioters taking to the streets, and those “whipping up this action online and then running away themselves,” would face consequences.
Masked rioters smashed windows and launched objects including pieces of wood and chairs at officers who lined up in front of the hotel in Rotherham.
At least ten officers were injured, with one left unconscious following a head injury, and others suffering suspected broken bones, police said.
Videos from the scene appeared to show a fire inside the hotel and a bin set alight close to the entrance.
South Yorkshire Police said no hotel employees or residents had been reported as injured, and the group of rioters were being dispersed from the area.
A police officer was also injured outside a hotel in Tamworth as officers responded to “violent acts of thuggery”.
People threw projectiles, smashed windows, and started fires, police said.
Starmer branded the action on the streets of the UK 'far-right thuggery'
The Home Office announced on Sunday that mosques would be offered greater protection under a new “rapid response process” designed to quickly tackle the threat of further attacks on places of worship.
The prime minister said he wanted those who “feel targeted because of the colour of their skin” to know “this violent mob do not represent our country, and we will bring them to justice”.
“There is no justification, none, for taking this action. And all right-minded people should be condemning this assault of violence," he said.
“People in this country have a right to be safe. And yet we’ve seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques.
“Other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric, so no, I won’t shy away from calling it what it is: far-right thuggery."
Rioters threw bottles and lengths of wood at police in Rotherham, with one injured officer carried away by colleagues
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the deliberate torching of a hotel where people were known to be inside in Rotherham was “utterly appalling”, as she backed police to take “the strongest action against those responsible”.
Rotherham MP Sarah Champion said she was "extremely concerned" by the "escalating violence" at the hotel.
“The people causing damage and attacking police do not represent our town and I am disgusted by their actions. This is criminal disorder and intimidation – not protest," she said.
The rioting in Rotherham and Tamworth is the latest in a series of violent protests across the country.
It follows similar scenes of unrest in Southport, Belfast, Hartlepool, Hull, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Sunderland and elsewhere earlier in the week.
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Violence has broken out following the killing of three young girls in Southport on Monday, with 147 arrests made since Saturday alone.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had travelled to the UK by boat.
The far right have been widely condemned as the organising force behind the subsequent rioting, which has seen bricks pelted at police officers, community facilities including a library set on fire, mosques attacked and shops looted.
Starmer held crisis talks with ministers on Saturday over the unrest, with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood telling colleagues “the whole justice system is ready to deliver convictions as quickly as possible”.
Starmer has given police his "full backing" to take any action necessary to respond to "extremists" attempting to "sow hate" in communities.
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