Afternoon summary
Four people have been arrested in connection with the violent protests that broke out last night in Southport following a vigil for the victims of Monday’s knife attack, police said. The Merseyside chief constable, Serena Kennedy, said more arrests will follow.
Of the 53 police officers injured, 49 were said to be Merseyside police officers and four were from Lancashire constabulary.
Merseyside police said eight officers sustained serious injuries including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion and were treated in hospital.
Local residents said rioters attacked a mosque and used bricks as missiles last night. Many helped with the clean-up operation throughout the day to repair the damage caused by the disorder.
Southport’s MP, Patrick Hurley, said the violent rioters were not local to the area and must face the “full force of the law”. He said the riots occurred because of the “propaganda and lies” spread on social media about the identity of the attacker. “These people are utterly disrespecting the families of the dead and injured children and utterly disrespecting the town,” the MP told the BBC.
Police believe those involved in the violent unrest included supporters of the English Defence League (EDL).
Humza Yousaf, the former first minister of Scotland, called for the EDL to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation after the riots.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all fatally stabbed in Southport on Monday. Jenni Stancombe, Elsie’s mother, wrote on Facebook: “This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.”
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder. The only details released about the suspect by police are that he is a 17-year-old from the village of Banks in Lancashire, who was born in Cardiff.
Police have said that, although the motive for the attack was unclear, it was not believed to be terror-related. On Wednesday, detectives were granted more time to question the teenager.
We are now pausing this blog but my colleague, Jamie Grierson, has done a useful explainer about everything we know so far about Monday’s knife attack. You can read it here.
Updated
Four arrests made after Southport riot, police say in update
Merseyside police have just released an update saying a total of four men have been arrested and taken into custody following last night’s riots.
A 31-year-old man from St Helens was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder
A 31-year-old man from West Derby, Liverpool was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder
A 39-year-old man from Southport was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder
A 32-year-old man from Manchester with a probation address in Southport was arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a bladed article.
In a statement, the police said:
The offenders destroyed garden walls to use the bricks as missiles to attack officers and set cars belonging to the public on fire at random. Those involved also threw bricks at the local mosque, damaged a local convenience store, and set wheelie bins on fire.
