LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday strongly condemned an attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers that left at least 10 police officers injured, one seriously, calling it “far-right brutality.”
In a statement at 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, the Prime Minister promised that the authorities would “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” and that justice would be swift.
Starmer’s statement comes as fresh violence has erupted across the country following a knife attack at a dance class that left three girls dead and many injured.
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or through those who foment this action online and then flee,” he said. “This is not a protest, this is an act of organized and violent brutality that has no place on our streets or online.”
Starmer was speaking after another day of far-right violence, particularly acute in the northern English town of Rotherham, where police struggled to contain hundreds of rioters who tried to break into a Holiday Inn Express hotel used as accommodation for asylum seekers.
Before the riot was brought under control, police officers armed with shields had to face a barrage of projectiles, including pieces of wood, chairs and fire extinguishers. A large trash can near a window of the hotel was also set on fire, but the small fire was extinguished.
South Yorkshire Police, responsible for Rotherham, said at least 10 officers were injured, including one who was left unconscious.
“The behavior we witnessed was simply disgusting. While a small number of those present chose to commit acts of violence and destruction, those who simply stood by and watched remain absolutely complicit in these acts,” said Deputy Chief of Police Lindsey Butterfield. “Our officers are working hard, reviewing the many images and videos online of those involved, and they should expect us to be at their doorstep very soon.”
Far-right agitators have sought to capitalise on last week’s stabbing by exploiting concerns about the scale of immigration to the UK, particularly the tens of thousands of migrants arriving in small boats from France across the Channel.
Tensions were also high in the northeastern city of Middlesbrough on Sunday, where some protesters managed to break free from police custody. One group marched through a residential area, smashing windows of homes and cars. When asked by a resident why they were breaking windows, one man replied: “Because we’re English.” Hundreds more clashed with police with shields at the town’s Cenotaph, throwing bricks, cans and pots at officers.
Starmer said anyone who targets people because of the colour of their skin or their faith is far-right.
“The citizens of this country have a right to be safe, and yet we have seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques, other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on police, gratuitous violence alongside racist rhetoric, so no, I will not hesitate to call it what it is: acts of far-right brutality,” he said.
The violence in recent days, which has seen a library torched, mosques attacked and flares thrown at a statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill, began after false rumours spread online that the suspect in the dance class stabbing was an asylum seeker, fuelling anger among far-right supporters.
In the UK, suspects under the age of 18 are not usually identified, but the judge ordered the identification of Axel Rudakubana, who was born in Wales to Rwandan parents, partly to stop the spread of false information. Rudakubana was charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in connection with the unrest and many more are likely to be arrested as police review CCTV, social media and body camera footage. However, police have also warned that with widespread security measures in place and thousands of officers deployed, other crimes may not be fully investigated.
With so many arrests, the courts will face a major challenge: processing all the charges, at a time when the criminal justice system is overwhelmed, following years of austerity and the COVID pandemic. In May, the Court of Auditors warned that the courts were facing a backlog of more than 60,000 cases, while the government said last month that thousands of prisoners should be released early to ease prison overcrowding.
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, said extra lawyers had been deployed over the weekend and would work “around the clock” over the coming days to ensure justice was done. He added that he had asked prosecutors to make immediate charging decisions when key evidence became available.
“I am determined that we will act swiftly and decisively, giving the courts the maximum ability to deliver sentences that reflect what happened,” he said.
Many of the protests over the past week have been organized online by far-right groups, who are mobilizing support with slogans such as “enough is enough,” “save our children” and “stop the boats.”
The rallying cries have come from a diffuse group of social media accounts, but a key player in amplifying them is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a longtime far-right agitator who uses the name Tommy Robinson. He led the English Defence League, which Merseyside police have linked to Tuesday’s violent protest in Southport, near the scene of the stabbing.
Yaxley-Lennon, 41, was banned from Twitter in 2018 but was reinstated after Elon Musk bought the platform and rebranded it as X. He has more than 800,000 followers. He is currently wanted on an arrest warrant after leaving the UK last week ahead of a scheduled hearing in contempt of court proceedings against him.
Nigel Farage, first elected to parliament last July as leader of the Reform UK party, has also been accused by many of encouraging – indirectly – anti-immigration sentiment. He has sought to link many of the problems facing the country, including health and housing, to the country’s large annual population increase.
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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
