Breaking News
London [UK], August 5 The UK is grappling with its worst social unrest in years as rioters targeted hotels housing asylum seekers in northern England on Sunday. The violence, which was sparked by the recent stabbing deaths of three young girls in Southport, has been exacerbated by the far right's spread of misinformation, including false claims that the suspect was an immigrant. According to police, the suspect was born in Britain.
Footage geolocated by CNN shows demonstrators attacking and setting fire to two Holiday Inns in northern England: one in Rotherham and another in Tamworth. The latter had previously faced criticism from a local lawmaker for accommodating asylum seekers.
In Tamworth, demonstrators threw projectiles, smashed windows, and injured one police officer. In Rotherham, rioters broke windows, threw wooden planks, assaulted police with fire extinguishers, and set fires as they attempted to breach the hotel. Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield reported that the Rotherham hotel was "full of terrified residents and staff" at the time of the attack.
The UK’s Minister of Police has pledged that far-right rioters will face swift legal action but has indicated that military intervention is unnecessary at this stage. The Labour government, under Keir Starmer, is confronting a significant challenge with this unrest, which is the worst since the 2011 riots.
In response to the violence, the UK Home Office announced new emergency security measures to protect mosques, allowing for rapid deployment of security by police, local authorities, and mosques themselves to safeguard communities and resume worship.
Keir Starmer condemned the far-right violence on social media, emphasizing that those involved would face the full force of the law. In a video message, he warned that participants in the violence would face arrests, charges, and convictions, stressing that such organized violence has no place on the streets or online.
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