British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said violent protesters who had targeted Muslim communities would face the "full force of the law" after a meeting with ministers and police chiefs aimed at quelling ongoing anti-immigrant protests.
"Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest, it is pure violence and we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim communities," Starmer said on Monday after an emergency meeting with ministers, police and prison chiefs.
"The full force of law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part."
Protests have continued across the country, with participants looting shops and mosques, attacking Asian-owned businesses and burning cars.
Some unverified videos on social media have shown ethnic minorities being beaten up.
Violence first broke out last Tuesday in Southport, northwest England, where three young girls were stabbed to death by an assailant falsely identified as a radical Islamist who had just arrived in Britain.
Revealling his identity, police said the 17-year-old was born in Wales, of Rwandan parents, and they are not treating it as a terrorist incident.
Police have blamed online disinformation, amplified by high-profile figures, for the violence, which continued Monday.
In Plymouth, in southwest England, on Monday evening several hundred anti-immigration protesters wearing English and British flags faced off against a greater number of counter-protesters, who were kept apart by police in riot gear.
Protesters threw bricks and fireworks. Sky News said several police officers were injured.
Starmer said a "standing army" of specialist police officers would tackle outbreaks of violence where needed.
The government will "ramp up criminal justice" to ensure that "sanctions are swift", he told the media after Monday's meeting.
Northern Ireland's assembly will end its summer break a day early to discuss the violence.
The National Police Chiefs' Council said 378 people had so far been arrested, and that others would be "brought to justice" and warned of "lengthy prison terms" for those found guilty of violent disorder.
(with AFP)
