Starmer to meet police chiefs after second night of disorder and unrest

The Prime Minister is set to hold an emergency meeting with senior police officers in Downing Street following a second night of disorder and unrest in parts of England.

The meeting in Downing Street on Thursday afternoon comes after scenes of violent unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester overnight while a demonstration in Aldershot saw a tense stand-off with riot police.

In London, more than 100 people were arrested after protesters in Whitehall launched beer cans and glass bottles at police and threw flares at the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.

Demonstrators wearing England flags and waving banners saying “enough is enough” and “stop the boats” had congregated outside Downing Street in the wake of the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, which social media posts had wrongly claimed was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat.

The angry scenes also included loud chants of: “We want our country back” and: “Oh Tommy Robinson,” referring to the right-wing activist. One man wore a shirt with the slogan: “Nigel Farage for Prime Minister, Tommy Robinson for Home Secretary.”

The Met arrested 111 people for alleged offences including violent disorder, assaults on police officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and breach of protest conditions.

“One of our colleagues was punched in the chest and another kicked multiple times,” Scotland Yard said.

Last night our officers faced unacceptable scenes of disorder and violence,” Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said.

“All our thoughts should be with the victims and families of those impacted by the most dreadful attack in Southport. It is shameful that some have sought to exploit this tragedy as justification for their own violence and criminality.”

A dedicated team of officers is working to bring charges, the force added.

Confrontations continued late into the night in Hartlepool, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles.

Cleveland Police have so far made eight arrests, with more expected.

Police in Manchester confronted another demonstration outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road before dispersing the crowd after protesters started throwing beer bottles at officers and members of the public.

According to the Manchester Evening News, this incident also saw chants of: “We want our country back,” while a group of men were seen jumping in the path of a bus, smashing its wing mirror and assaulting a passenger.

Aldershot appears to have escaped the violence seen in other parts of the country, but a demonstration there was still met by riot police.

The string of violent incidents follows similar scenes in Southport on Tuesday, where demonstrators attacked police and set cars on fire.

On Thursday afternoon, Sir Keir Starmer will meet with senior police leaders in Downing Street to express his full support for their efforts to deal with the violence.

He is expected to praise their “bravery” in dealing with both the incident in Southport and its aftermath, and encourage them to use their powers to “stop mindless violence in its tracks”.

Lord Walney, the Government’s independent adviser on political violence, said he hoped the meeting would examine powers to “refuse and prevent further so-called ‘protests’ that are being used by far-right activists as a vehicle for serious disorder and violence”.

He said: “There is a right to protest in the UK but that is not a right to riot.”

The meeting comes as a 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of the three girls.

Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were fatally stabbed on Monday when a knifeman entered a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside.

Eight other children suffered knife wounds – with five of them in a critical condition – while two adults were also critically injured.

The 17-year-old has been remanded in custody to appear on Thursday at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court.

Cleveland Police Federation chairman Paul Crowley condemned the “disgraceful acts of mindless violence” in Hartlepool as “utterly deplorable” and said several officers were injured and needed hospital treatment.

“Police officers should never have to face such brutality, and every officer deserves to go home safely to their families without fear of suffering serious injury or worse,” he said, adding: “We will not rest until those responsible are brought to justice.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said there is “no place for criminality on our streets” as he described scenes in the capital as “completely unacceptable”.

Pledging his full support for the Metropolitan Police to take action against those “intent on violence, causing disorder and spreading division in our city”, he added: “At this time of rising tensions, we all have a responsibility to pull together and reject hateful narratives, and ensure our towns and cities are safe and welcoming for everyone.

“In London, our diversity is our greatest strength and we will always stand united against those spreading hate and division.”