British government mobilises thousands of police officers and frees up hundreds of prison places

In a United Kingdom shaken by far-right violence, the Labour government announced on Tuesday, August 6, the mobilization of 6,000 specialized police officers and more than 500 prison places available to lock up rioters. Monday evening was again marred by violent incidents, a week after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in the northwest of England.

In Belfast (Northern Ireland), a man in his thirties was seriously injured after an attack considered by investigators to be motivated by hate, according to the police, who did not specify the profile of the victim. A supermarket, owned by a foreign national according to the Irish media RTE and already targeted during the weekend, was the target of an attempted arson attack. In Plymouth, six people were arrested and several police officers were slightly injured.

The first violence began amid partly denied rumours about the suspect’s profile, wrongly presented as a Muslim asylum seeker. The 17-year-old was in fact born in Cardiff, Wales, and according to British media, his family is of Rwandan origin. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised convictions “fast” for the rioters, and denounced the “far-right hatred”.