Britain Tackling Anarchy Amid Anti-Islam Riots (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

LONDON (Worthy News) – British police stepped up patrols Thursday after much of the nation plunged into anarchy with anti-immigration and anti-Islam protesters rioting in towns and cities across the country following the killing of three girls, allegedly by the U.K.-born teenage son of Rwandan parents.

With tensions rising, Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an emergency meeting, or COBRA, with senior police leaders and officials Thursday while several rioters were jailed.

Ahead of the meeting on a visit to a mosque in Solihull, the prime minister said it was “important we don’t let up” after mass p.rotests failed to materialize on Wednesday.

He told broadcasters that Thursday’s meeting would “ensure we reflect on last night but also plan for the coming days.”

Starmer said Wednesday went “much better than was expected” and added, “We are not going to give up on our efforts here.” He spoke as police reportedly mobilized 6,000 officers to intervene in 30 locations. Officials said planned targets for riots include London, Birmingham, and Liverpool.

Starmer reiterated that the “most important lesson” for those involved in disorder is that they are seen to be arrested and charged.

He credited the deployment of extra police and quick sentencing of people involved in disorder for the lack of unrest on Wednesday.

LESS DISORDER

The prime minister said there was less disorder than expected last night because Britain could demonstrate that the “criminal justice system is working speedily.”

He stressed that the lengthy prison sentences handed down to two rioters at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday sent a “powerful message” to potential agitators.

Steven Mailen, 54, and his partner Ryan Sheers, 29, both pleaded guilty to violent disorder after 200 people gathered in the city on 31 July.

Jailing them for two years and two months each, the judge said the pair were “at the very forefront of the mob” and tried to push through a police cordon.

Mailen, a former postmaster and school governor, was described as “one of the main instigators” of the large-scale disturbance.

Sheers, formerly a McDonald’s worker, was bitten on the hip by a police dog during the incident.

Earlier, several other rioters were sentenced, including an 18-year-old young man. Many more are expected to face jail time as some 400 violent protesters were detained, officials suggest.

RIOTS SPREADING

Riots spread since July 29 when three girls aged between six and nine were killed during an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event for children in the seaside town of Southport, in northern England.

Axel Rudakubana, 17, was charged with three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, one of, and one of possession of a bladed article.

His case was later heard at Liverpool Crown Court, where he sat in the dock covering his face with a grey sweatshirt and did not speak to confirm his name.

Judge Andrew Menary did not impose reporting restrictions on Rudakubana’s identity, which had not previously been reported, as he is under
18.

Rudakubana, whose parents migrated from Rwanda, was remanded in custody ahead of a further hearing in October.

Although he was born in Britain and police said there was no (Islamic) terrorism motive, riots have erupted at anti-immigration protests in towns and cities across Britain in the last week.

The violence included attacks by far-right groups on hotels housing asylum seekers and on mosques in riots that injured hundreds of people, many of them police officers. Additionally, Asian-owned shops have been targeted, raising concerns, including in the Philippines.“I am worried about my children in the U.K. The British are harassing Asian immigrants,” Clarita Orfrecio, a Christian, told Worthy News.

BBC STAR

It came amid questions about the personality of Southport stabbing suspect Rudakubana, whose deeds sparked the riots. British media reported that he once starred in a BBC network ‘Children in Need’ commercial, though the footage has since been removed.

At age 11, Rudakubana played Doctor Who in the advert, wearing the iconic trenchcoat and tie once sported by David Tennant when he starred in the TV series.

The clashes have highlighted years of grievances by those describing themselves as patriots who say record levels of illegal and legal immigration are “undermining British society.”

Some activists, described as “far-right” by authorities, argue that immigration has fuelled violence and crime, including assaults on women and girls. They say migrants have been housed and treated favorably by politicians, but rights groups say that is untrue.

Some on the right also accuse the police of treating “patriotic” protesters more severely than they do people involved in, say, recent pro-Palestine marches or Black Lives Matter demonstrations in 2020.

The government and the police have rejected the characterization of British policing, with Mark Rowley, the UK’s most senior officer, calling it nonsense.

Anti-racist groups say looting of shops and attacks on police and mosques betray the actual motive of those behind the violence that has broken out at many of the protests.

However, on Thursday, there was concern that the public may become less aware of ongoing violence as tech giants were pressured to remove content. Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, recalled that the director of public prosecutions of England and Wales, Stephen Parkinson, warned that sharing online material of riots could be an offense.

“We do have dedicated police officers who are scouring social media to look for this material and then follow up with arrests,” he said in footage posted on X and confirmed by Worthy News. “This is actually happening,” Musk wrote on X.

(With additional input from the Philippines)

Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.