Starmer promises 'substantive sentencing' of rioters by end of the week

A second emergency Cobra meeting was called on Tuesday as police warn of the 'worst spate' of violence in the last decade

• Sir Keir Starmer chaired a second emergency Cobra meeting on Tuesday with ministers and police chiefs

• The prime minister says he expects 'substantive sentencing' of some rioters by the end of the week as he praised the 'swift response' of the criminal justice system

• The Met Police has vowed to protect London from 'one of the worst spates of violent disorder in the last decade', with more protests planned on Wednesday

• Violence has flared up across the UK, with unrest witnessed across England and in parts of Northern Ireland at sites including a children’s library, mosques, supermarkets and hotels housing asylum seekers

• There have been at least 400 arrests since the violence broke out as police forces across the nation attempt to clamp down

• A number of people appeared in court on Tuesday in connection with disorder

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is expecting “substantive sentencing” for those taking part in riots across the UK “before the end of this week”.

Speaking from Downing Street on Tuesday evening, the prime minister praised the "robust and swift response" of the criminal justice system in dealing with rioters.

He said: “Those involved will feel the full force of the law… over 400 people now have been arrested, 100 have been charged – some in relation to online activity – and a number of them are already in court. “I’m now expecting substantive sentencing before the end of this week. That should send a very powerful message to anybody involved, either directly or online, that you are likely to be dealt with within a week. Nobody, but nobody, should be involved themselves in this disorder.”

Rioting began in Southport on Tuesday last week after three girls were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town the previous day.

On Thursday, the prime minister warned social media companies after misinformation spread online about the identity of the 17-year-old suspect, Axel Rudakubana, including false information about his name and claims that he was an asylum seeker.

The prime minister sought to reassure members of the public of their safety amid the threat of further violent disorder around the country

Despite a relatively quiet Tuesday night after a week of violent unrest in cities across the country, police remain braced for further disturbance.

Although officers in Liverpool and Durham issued dispersal orders to head off potential unrest, Tuesday night was free of the violent scenes that have played out across Britain.

Police are still anticipating a busy day on Wednesday as they monitor reports of at least 30 possible gatherings and threats against immigration law specialists, some of which had either closed or accepted offers of additional police protection.

A list of solicitors’ firms and advice agencies has been shared in chat groups as possible targets for gatherings, with the message inviting people to “mask up” if they attend.

Tell Mama, a group monitoring Islamophobia in the UK, said it had alerted police and counter-terrorism to the “far-right threats”. The Law Society of England and Wales described such gatherings as a “direct assault on our legal profession”, while Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said threats against solicitors were “unacceptable” and those making them would “join the hundreds of others who have already been arrested by police within the last week”.

Sir Keir offered his reassurances to the public that "they will be safe" after chairing a second emergency Cobra meeting in as many days on Tuesday.

Police chiefs and ministers attended the meeting, which came as violent disorder continues to flare up across the UK.

Starmer said: "We're doing everything we can to ensure that where a police response is needed, it's in place, where support is needed for particular places, that that is in place.

"Obviously it's a difficult situation with disorder going on in a number of different places at the same time, but that is precisely why I held my second Cobra meeting today to co-ordinate the response and to get the assurance that I want and need, that we do have adequate police in place, that we are able to cope with this disorder.

"But the message has to go to those that are involving themselves in this disorder, which is 'you're wrong, you shouldn't be doing it, you will feel the full force of the law', as I hope we're demonstrating with these swift prosecutions."

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has told police forces that any overtime pay or other resources they need to respond to criminal disorder will be provided.

It comes as the Metropolitan Police force has vowed to protect London from “one of the worst spates of violent disorder in the last decade”, as more events are due to take place on Wednesday.

Scotland's former first minister Humza Yousaf has said the past week of violence has made him unsure if he wants to keep his family in the UK.

Speaking on The News Agents podcast he said: “You cut me open, I’m as about as Scottish as you come.

“But the truth of the matter is, I don’t know whether the future for me and my wife and my three children is going to be here in Scotland or the United Kingdom, or indeed in Europe and the West, because I have for some time really worried about the rise of Islamophobia.”

In Belfast, Paramilitaries are suspected to have been an "element" in the latest disorder in the city. Police had come under sustained attack and on Monday night, a man in his 50s was taken to hospital in a serious condition after being attacked in a suspected hate crime.

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with two counts of riot and possession of a weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, police say.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said officers came under sustained attack from multiple petrol bombs - with one police vehicle set alight - heavy masonry and bricks over a number of hours. It said around 100 people were involved.

In Plymouth, police officers were injured during “sustained violence” on Monday evening, while similar trouble on the streets of Darlington saw officers pelted with bricks.

Court appearances

Teenager James Nelson has become the first person to receive a prison sentence after riots broke out across the country.

The 18-year-old donned a pink balaclava in a bid to "evade identification" after damaging two police cars in Bolton - he has been jailed for two months after pleading guilty to causing criminal damage while rioting.

While, Jordan Parlour, 28, has become the first person to be charged with posting allegedly criminal messages linked to the violence, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The charge relates to alleged Facebook posts between August 1 and 5. He will appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

A 38-year-old man has become the first person to appear in court following Sunday's rioting at a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham housing asylum seekers, where hotel windows were smashed and a bin was pushed against the wall of the building and set alight. Some 12 officers were injured.

Christopher Rodgers appeared at Sheffield Magistrates Court on Tuesday where he denied one count of violent disorder. Appearing in the glass-fronted dock wearing a grey T-shirt, Rodgers said "what a laugh" as he left court.

A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty after a video shared on TikTok identified him throwing a paving slab at a man's head during the violence in Liverpool city centre on Saturday, said police.

The schoolboy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, where he admitted violent disorder.

A number of other people will also appear in court on Tuesday in connection with the disorder.

Social media's role in the unrest

Meanwhile, the government is ramping up its criticism of social media after Sir Keir got into a public spat with X owner Elon Musk.

Many of the protests that have taken place in the past week have been organised on social media, with the government saying it will take a "robust approach" to the companies that own them.

The comments came after Musk commented on a clip of one of the incidents in the UK saying "civil war is inevitable," with the prime minister rejecting the claim saying there was "no justification for comments like that."

On Tuesday morning, Musk shared a video that the user alleged was filmed in Birmingham claiming "armed" Muslims were searching for far-right protesters, writing: "Why aren’t all communities protected in Britain? @Keir_Starmer".

Musk has reinstated the accounts of several far-right British figures since taking over the platform, most notably Tommy Robinson - whose real name is Stephen Lennon - who has been tweeting prolifically since the unrest began from a luxury hotel in Cyprus.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said the government would take action on those who organise violence from "behind the screen of your mobile phone".

She told ITV News: "Let me be clear, a crime is a crime, whether it's happening on the streets or on the internet. "Nobody should be under any illusions that if they are sat behind a computer screen, or their mobile phone, that that gives them any protection against the full force of the law being applied to them."

She told Sky News social media companies have a "moral responsibility not to be propagating and disseminating misleading and inflammatory content on their platforms."

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle is continuing meetings with social media companies "where he made clear their responsibility to continue to work with the government to stop the spread of hateful disinformation and incitement," said Downing Street.

PM: 'We will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end'

Starmer told his Cabinet on Tuesday that the “standing army” of special duty public officers is ready to be deployed across the country to tackle any emerging disorder, according to Downing Street.

Starmer told his Cabinet: “This is something no one would have ever wanted to see and we need to be calling it out for what it is. It is not protest. It is violent disorder and needs to be treated as such, as criminal activity."

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, meanwhile, suggested people abusing NHS staff “can be turned away, and should be turned away” after saying he was “appalled by reports of violence directed towards Filipino nurses in Sunderland”.

Justice Minister Alexander also told broadcasters on Tuesday morning that courts “could possibly” begin sitting through the evening, the night and at weekends in order to prosecute rioters swiftly.

She confirmed some 567 additional prison spaces would soon come into use to deal with rioters from next week.

The prime minister has called for perpetrators to be named and shamed and yesterday vowed to “ramp up criminal justice” after an emergency Cobra meeting was called following disorder over the weekend which saw rioters storm hotels housing asylum seekers.

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'More than 400 arrests'

There have been more than 400 arrests since the violence broke out last week, with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) warning the total is expected to rise each day.

There were 46 charges on Monday and 18 overnight, it is understood.

Police are aware of six potential events on Tuesday and officers are anticipating a busy day on Wednesday as they monitor reports of at least 30 possible gatherings.

Sources said forces were watching events closely as they established what intelligence was credible and stood ready to respond.

Incidents were also reported in Birmingham and West Midlands Police said they were investigating after a large number of people gathered in the Bordesley area of the city.

Reports of a proposed far-right gathering in Huddersfield led to many businesses not opening and leaving the centre a ghost town, despite the protest not materialising.

In Southport, hundreds of people attended a peaceful vigil a week after the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar.

Children blew bubbles and others left flowers and heart-shaped balloons on Monday evening in remembrance of the victims of the stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.

Merseyside Police have since said one child injured in the incident remained in hospital but all other patients had been discharged.

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