(London) In a United Kingdom shaken by violence attributed to the extreme right, the government announced Tuesday the mobilization of 6,000 specialized police officers and more than 500 prison places available to lock up rioters.
Monday night was marred by further violent incidents, a week after three girls were killed in a knife attack in the north-west 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.
PHOTO DAVID YOUNG, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
A vehicle is set on fire in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 3, 2024.
A supermarket, owned by a foreign national according to Irish media RTE and already targeted over the weekend, was the subject of an attempted arson attack.
For several hours, the police were the target of Molotov cocktails and throwing of bricks or pieces of concrete, according to the Northern Irish police, including a Land Rover 4X4 which was set on fire after being doused with petrol, without however causing any injuries.
A 15-year-old boy suspected of taking part in the incidents was arrested and taken into custody, according to police.
Rumors
In Plymouth (South West England), six people were arrested and several police officers were slightly injured according to the police.
Live footage from Sky News showed a tense standoff between the far right and counter-protesters, separated by police on either side of a road, punctuated by the throwing of projectiles.
The channel also reported that a man armed with a knife tried to slash a tyre on one of its vehicles in Birmingham (central), where a crowd of Muslim men gathered saying they were ready to defend the street after rumours of a far-right rally.
The first violence began amid rumours, which were partly denied, 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.
Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised “swift” convictions for the rioters and denounced “far-right hatred”.
PHOTO BENJAMIN CREMEL, ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Keir Starmer, Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
“We will ensure that anyone who is sentenced to prison for rioting and disorder will have a place in prison waiting for them,” Justice Secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC on Tuesday morning.
The government has made sure that places that would have been available “later in the month” were freed up, she explained, citing the figure of 567 places.
On Times Radio, the Secretary of State for Justice also confirmed the mobilisation of 6,000 police officers specialising in maintaining order, specifying an announcement made on Monday by Keir Starmer.
Call for responsibility
Over the weekend, hotels hosting or known to host asylum seekers were targeted, as were mosques.
In Burnley (North West England), an investigation into racist acts has been opened after graves were vandalised in the Muslim square.
The government has stressed the responsibility of social networks, while the boss of the X platform, Elon Musk, finds himself under fire for having written that a “civil war is inevitable”, remarks that the Secretary of State for Justice has called “unjustifiable” and “deeply irresponsible”.
“We see police officers being seriously injured, buildings being burned, I really think that everyone who has a platform should exercise their power responsibly,” Alexander insisted.
The country has not seen such a surge since 2011, after the death of a young mixed-race man, Mark Duggan, by police in north London.