British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pushing for "swift" criminal sanctions against rioters to address the escalating unrest, he announced following an emergency meeting on Monday morning.
Far-right violence surged on Sunday night with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. The crisis meeting, held at the prime minister's official residence in London, brought together ministers and police representatives to tackle the issue.
In a television address, Starmer emphasized the importance of quickly stopping the disorder and ensuring that criminal sanctions are promptly and visibly enforced.
"We will establish a 'standing army' of specialist police officers to handle rioting and disorder," Starmer stated. "This is not protest; it is violence."
According to British media reports, over 400 people have been arrested in the past week in connection with riots in Southport, Liverpool, Belfast, and Bristol. Several individuals were remanded in custody on Monday morning after appearing before a judge. Photo by Flickr: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Official Portrait, Wikimedia commons.
