Aug. 4 (UPI) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain condemned violent protests that have erupted throughout the country following last week’s brutal stabbing spree as “far-right thuggery” that will be met with the “full force of the law.”
In a televised address on Sunday, Starmer warned those either participating in the violence or fueling it online that they will “regret taking part in this disorder.”
“This is not protest. It is organized, violent thuggery. And it has no place on our street or online,” he said.
Violence instigated by far-right protesters has erupted throughout cities in Britain after three children were killed and eight others were wounded, five critically, in a stabbing spree committed July 29 at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the seaside town of Southport. Two adults were also injured
The suspected perpetrator was arrested and charged. The 17-year-old has since been identified as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana.
Violent Protests that began in Southport — which police said appeared to have been connected to the far-right, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant English Defense League — have spread to other cities.
Over the weekend, police made some 150 arrests across the country, the National Police Chiefs’ Council said in a statement Sunday.
As Starmer was speaking Sunday, police in northern Rotherham were responding to attacks on the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Rotherham’s Manvers district known for being occupied by asylum seekers.
South Yorkshire Police, which oversees the city, said some 700 protesters had converged on the hotel. Planks of wood, glass bottles and cans were thrown at police by protesters who also sprayed law enforcement with fire extinguishers.
Fires were lit a blaze as was a generator, though they were all put out in short order.
The violence resulted in one arrest — at least so far as authorities are calling on the public for information about the protest — and at least 10 police officers injured, including one who was knocked unconscious and another suffering a suspected fractured elbow.
No employees or residents of the hotel were injured, South Yorkshire Police said.
“The mindless actions of those today have achieved nothing other than sheer destruction and leaving members of the public and the wider community in fear,” Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield of South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.
“The behavior we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said South Yorkshire Police have full government support to take the “strongest action” against those responsible.
“The criminal, violent attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham is utterly appalling,” she said on X.
A second hotel came under attack in Tamworth, which is located just northeast of Birmingham. Petrol bombs and fireworks were launched by protesters at law enforcement and the hotel, putting the lives of those inside at risk, Staffordshire Police said in a statement.
At least 10 people in the city have been arrested, but that number is expected to climb as a senior investigating officer as been appointed to carry out an investigation of the incident, which police say was pre-planned.
Those arrested remain in custody, it said.
Starmer said that in the unrest they have seen Nazi salutes as well as attacks on mosques and members of the Muslim and other minority communities. There has been “wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric,” he said.
“To those who feel targeted because of the color of your skin or your father, I know how frightening this must be. I want you to know this violent mob do not represent our country,” he said.
“And we will bring them to justice.”