Home secretary says prison places 'ready' for 'thuggish minority' involved in riots
Politicians have accused the far-right of using the Southport stabbings as an excuse and social media companies of failing to deal with misinformation.
Monday 5 August 2024 12:11, UK
The home secretary has said prison places "are ready" for the "thuggish minority of criminals" rioting across the UK.
Yvette Cooper held an emergency COBRA meeting of ministers and police chiefs this morning, following nearly a week of disorder and rioting in cities and towns across the UK.
More than 400 people have been arrested across the country since last Tuesday, with courts working extended hours to deal with the high numbers of people charged over the riots.
In London last week, 111 people were arrested in one night and in Middlesbrough over the weekend, officers arrested 43 people, with people also arrested in other areas.
Ms Cooper told Sky News those involved, who have injured police, targeted mosques and asylum seeker hotels, and caused criminal damage, are "a thuggish minority of criminals".
"They do not speak for our communities," she said.
"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."
Ms Cooper added: "We've made sure there are additional prosecutors in place, that there are prisons, that prison places are ready, and also that the courts stand ready as well.
"We have made very clear to the police they have our full support in pursuing the full range of prosecutions and penalties, including the serious prison sentences, long term tagging, travel bans and more."
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She vowed "the full range of offenders" - from those who turned up at the last minute to those who carried out arson - "will face arrest and a prison cell... in order to make sure they pay the price for what they have done".
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Defence Secretary John Healey said the government was not considering calling in the army and police forces were supporting each other, sending officers where needed.
On Sunday, Ms Cooper said mosques were being offered greater protection as several had been targeted by rioters, including in Middlesbrough on Sunday night.
Several MPs, including from Labour, the Conservatives, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have called for parliament to be recalled from its summer recess to deal with the violence.
However, Ms Cooper said parliament would not be recalled "right now" but the government was keeping "in close contact" with MPs.
Government should have acted faster
Former home secretary James Cleverly said the government should have acted faster and said it was "worrying" they were only holding a COBRA meeting today after six days of rioting.
He told Sky News: "There are key decisions that need to be made very early in the process.
"Had I still been home secretary, I would have called a COBRA meeting much earlier than this. We need certainty."
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Small acts of kindness show Southport will not let violence win
Over the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer called the riots "far-right thuggery" and promised: "I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder."
The riots started following the stabbing of a group of young children, in which three died, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, north of Liverpool, on 29 July.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with their murders and attempted murders. He was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, but misinformation online said he was a refugee who arrived last year on a small boat.
Southport residents, including the mother of one of the girls who died, have called for the protesters to stop and that they do not speak for them.
Ms Cooper said social media had "clearly put rocket boosters under some of the organisation for the inflaming of tensions, and also the misinformation that was spread as well".
She said social media companies must take "some responsibility" for the misinformation and said while they had stopped a lot of it during the general election campaign some of that has been reduced, which is "not acceptable".
Mr Cleverly said he was aware of a "pernicious" online culture when he was home secretary which was "perpetrated by the far right, amplified, both within the UK, and beyond our borders".
He said the past week's riots have "got all the hallmarks of something which has been stoked by that".