British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold an emergency meeting with police chiefs on Monday after days of violent anti-immigration protests intensified, with buildings and vehicles torched and hotels holding asylum seekers targeted.
Riots have erupted across towns and cities in the last week after three girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport in northwest England, with 420 people arrested so far.
The murders were seized on by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups as misinformation spread online that the suspected attacker was a radical Islamist who had just arrived in Britain. Police have said the suspect was born in Britain and are not treating it as a terrorist incident.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said rioters had felt “emboldened by this moment to stir up racial hatred”, with bricks thrown at police officers, shops looted and mosques and Asian-owned businesses attacked.
Over the weekend, riots broke out in Liverpool, Bristol, Tamworth, Middlesbrough and Belfast, in Northern Ireland, with young men wearing balaclavas and draped in British flags hurling rocks and shouting “Stop the Boats,” referencing migrants arriving on the south coast in recent years.
Police blame online disinformation
Police have attributed the violence to online disinformation, with high-profile figures like Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, accused of spreading misinformation. Prime Minister Starmer urged social media companies to take responsibility for combating misinformation.
Rishi Sunak, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, condemned the violence, stating it had no place in society. Elon Musk also commented on the unrest, attributing it to mass migration and open borders.
Interior Minister Cooper highlighted the role of online amplification in exacerbating tensions and vowed to address the issue with social media companies.
(With input from agencies)
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