Content Warning: The following article contains material that may be distressing to some readers.
Trigger Warning: Violence, murder, death,
Rioting and social dissidence have engulfed the UK over the past few weeks, leading to an array of crimes being committed. Looting, arson, and racist attacks have mounted pressure on the newly appointed Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer.
Major cities across the UK, such as London, Birmingham, Bristol and Belfast have been subjected to unrest, with disorder also permeating its way through surrounding areas.
The Prime Minister has labelled these riots as “far-right thuggery,” and makes adamant that punishment is inevitable.
Background
The unrest began following the killing of three little girls in Southport on July 29 at a dance studio. Bebe King (aged 6), Elsie Dot Stancombe (aged 7) and Alice da Silva Aguiar (aged 9) were fatally killed during a knife attack.
The immediate response to the Southport attack was speculation about the suspect following an arrest. The police asked the public to refrain from “unconfirmed speculation and false information.” However, this did not prevent the spreading of misinformation.
This led to the beginning of the unrest (July 30) after a vigil for the victims. Fuelled by the misidentification of the suspect as being a Muslim immigrant on social media, rioting and protest ensued. At the centre of the riot, a mosque in Southport was vandalised.
Andrew Menary KC, the Recorder of Liverpool made public the murder suspect’s identity, revealing him as Axel Rudabanka from Wales, born to Rwandan migrants and of a Christian background.
Contention continued to grow, and an anti-immigrant sentiment spread across the UK.
Social media platforms such as, TikTok, X, Telegram and WhatsApp have been a catalyst for the UK riots. A tool to organise various attacks and spread misinformation across the country.
An analysis by the BBC shows pockets of groups mobilising on social media to protests in certain locations. Sky news have made public messages used to incite violence and make threats. The Telegram app was used for “advertising” fireworks and flares, encouraging members to protest in Southport.
The Riots
Rotherham saw rioters attacking a Holiday Inn hotel that house asylum seekers, whilst being live streamed on TikTok. The building was set on fire, rocks were thrown at it, and masked men sought to force their way through. As well as the emergency exit of the building being barricaded, in attempt to trap the 130 asylum seekers inside. The PM displayed his outrage about the attack, explaining that “there was no justification for taking this action.”
There have been numerous incidents in other areas, such as Belfast, Plymouth and Sunderland where police were attacked and buildings. As well as cars being set alight, and shops being looted.
In Birmingham, there was opposition from around 300 young Asian men towards a far-right protest that was scheduled to happen, however, the protest failed to take place.
Arrests and Convictions
Starmer addressed the public (in his first press conference) to warn that those causing disorder will “feel the full force of the law.”
The PM also sympathised with those who “…feel targeted because of the colour of [their skin] or [their] faith.” He added, “…I know how frightening this must be.”
Rioters will “feel the full force of the law”
Approximately 1,000 people have been arrested (August 14) for the unrest that has spread across the UK.
Violent disorder was the most common offence.
Many have compared these riots to the 2011 riots that manifested following the death of Mark Duggan, a black man who was shot by police in Tottenham.
The unrest resulted in 3000 arrests and 2000 prosecutions.
Keir Starmer played a pivotal role in the prosecutions for the riots, from 2008-2013 he was the Director of Public Prosecutions. He instructed judges to sit for 24 hours a day at Magistrate’s courts to prosecute rioters. He has since deployed the same strategy in recent events.
Adam Boulton, Sky News Commentator labelled Starmer as “an expert on the judicial side of dealing with disturbances,” explaining how the 2011 riots made him well-equipped to punish rioters. However, Boulton draws differences between the riots. Such is clear to see with the heightened use of social media, which was not widely used in 2011, as it is today.
“He [Starmer] instructed judges to sit for 24 hours a day at Magistrate’s courts to prosecute rioters”
Many have criticised the new PM. A recent poll shows that 49% of people that answered, believe that Starmer is handing the riots badly. As well as the government being labelled as orchestrating a “two-tier” method of policing.
Despite Starmer being well versed in handling civil disturbances, the nature of these riots and the motivations are contrastingly different to those in 2011.
This presents a new challenge for the Prime Minister to overcome.
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