Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the “gang of violent thugs” behind disorder following the Southport stabbings as he announced a new national policing response.
Sir Keir met with police chiefs on Thursday after protests in Southport, central London, Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot broke out this week.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Sir Keir said the violence was fanned by the far-right, while announcing new preventative action to tackle “hooligans” from travelling to areas to stir disorder.
He announced what he called a new "capability" across police forces to co-ordinate a response to the violent disorder seen in parts of England.
Sir Keir said the riots were "not protest" and "not legitimate", saying those involved were “bent on violence”, as he vowed not to permit a "breakdown of law and order".
"Make no mistake, whether it's in Southport, London or Hartlepool these people are showing our country exactly who they are,” he said.
"Mosques targeted because they're mosques, flares thrown at the statue of Winston Churchill, a Nazi salute at the Cenotaph.
"And so I've just held a meeting with senior police and law enforcement leaders, where we resolved to show who we are. A country that will not allow understandable fear, to curdle into division and hate in our communities and that will not permit under any circumstances, a breakdown in law and order on our streets.
"Because let's be very clear about this. It's not protest. It's not legitimate. It's crime. Violent disorder. An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice.
"And so on behalf of the British people who expect their values and their security to be upheld. We will put a stop to it."
Sir Keir also issued a warning to social media giants, amid fears the protests were fanned by disinformation online, saying the "violent disorder clearly whipped up online is also a crime and it is happening on your premises".
This week’s earlier protest in the Merseyside town, after the stabbings which claimed the lives of three children, descended into scenes of violence with officers pelted with stones and bottles.
Officers said some of those behind the rioting were thought to be members of the far-right English Defence League.
More than 100 people were also detained after a similar protest on Whitehall on Wednesday night, with officers describing the scenes as “unacceptable”.
Community leaders in Southport, as well as loved ones of the young girls in the attack, have condemned the scenes of “thuggery” amid appeals for calm.
The disorder has been exacerbated by false rumours on social media about the suspect accused of carrying out the stabbing.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed on Monday when a knifeman entered the dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside.
Eight other children suffered knife wounds while two adults were also critically hurt.
The suspect was on Thursday named as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana after a judge lifted anonymity protections typically given to underage defendants accused of serious crimes.
In reaching his decision, Judge Andrew Menary KC said that social media misinformation about the case had helped stoke violent riots.
“Idiotic rioting is, in part, fed by nonsense online, which feeds on a vacuum,” he said while sitting at Liverpool Crown Court.
The defendant, who is accused of the murders of three children and ten counts of attempted murder, was remanded into youth detention accommodation as criminal proceedings progress.
The Crown Prosecution Service has stressed that defendants have the right to a fair trial, and that no commentary should be shared online which could impede criminal proceedings.
