British PM Keir Starmer calls emergency meeting over ‘far-right thuggery’ on U.K. streets

British PM calls emergency meeting after far-right riots across UK, targeting asylum seekers, mosques, and police.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called an emergency COBRA meeting of senior ministers and police chiefs at 10 Downing Street in London on August 5 after a weekend of riots across several cities in the country, which he termed a “far-right thuggery” that will face the full force of the law.

Hundreds of arrests have been made as police officers in riot gear responded to violent scenes in Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Bolton and other parts of the U.K. on August 4, after days of some of the worst rioting seen on the streets of the country in the wake of the fatal stabbings of three schoolgirls in Southport, north-west England.

Hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques have been among the targets of the anti-immigrant mobs after initial false claims spread online regarding the stabbing suspect being an immigrant who arrived in the country illegally.

“I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we have seen this weekend. Be in no doubt: those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law,” said Starmer in a statement on Sunday.

“There is no justification — none — for taking this action, and all right-minded people should be condemning this sort of violence. 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, (and) wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric. So, no, I won’t shy away from calling this what it is: far-right thuggery,” he said.

He will chair the emergency Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA) meeting with UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss the future course of action to curb the violence. The Home Office has also announced that mosques will be offered greater protection with new "emergency security" that can be rapidly deployed to respond to violent disorder targeting places of worship.

"They do not speak for our communities. It's a total disgrace, and there has to be a reckoning. Those individuals who are involved in the disorder need to know that they will pay a price," said Cooper, as she indicated that additional prosecutors and courts are on standby to charge those being arrested for a series of offences.