Starmer creates ‘standing army’ of specialist police officers to crush far-right thugs

Sir Keir Starmer has ordered a new “standing army” of specialist police officers to be set up to bring an end to the far-right riots which have broken out across the UK in the last week.

The prime minister made the move after chairing an emergency Cobra committee meeting this morning with the deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, home secretary Yvette Cooper, senior officials and leading police officers including Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.

It came as reports suggest that far-right groups intend to target 30 immigration and law centres on Thursday after sharing addresses on the messaging platform Telegram.

Ms Cooper pledged that the far-right thugs face “a reckoning”, with nearly 400 people arrested after far-right violence swept across the country over the weekend.

The meeting took place as the first cases of alleged rioters were heard in emergency sessions of courts, with the accused as young as 14 and one sobbing as he faced justice.

The mobile force of police officers is a rare use of special emergency powers since they were first used 40 years ago, with the controversial squads drafted under the Ridley Plan to tackle the miners’ strike in 1984 and 1985.

Over the weekend Sir Keir signalled that he had lost patience with “the far-right thugs” who caused civil unrest around the country in towns and cities such as Southport, Liverpool, Hull, London, Rotherham and Tamworth.

And the unrest continued on Monday evening with demonstrations in Plymouth and Birmingham seeing outbreaks of violence.

Six people were arrested in Plymouth after a police van was damaged and several officers received minor injuries. Pictures and footage from the scene showed fireworks and stones being thrown.

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But he is continuing to resist recalling parliament even though the Stormont Assembly in Northern Ireland is being recalled to discuss the riots which took place in Belfast.

The violence across the UK broke out after misinformation on social media about the alleged attacker in the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance club in Southport. Far-right activists descended on the seaside resort and set fire to a police car while besieging a mosque.

Since then attacks have spread around the country and included violent attacks on hotels holding asylum seekers in Rotherham and Tamworth on Sunday.

The new mobile police force will provide extra specialist support in tackling civil unrest for the 24 police forces around the country, several of which have been unable to cope with the scale of the riots.

Announcing his new initiative this morning, the prime minister said: “There are a number of actions that came out of the [Cobra] meeting.

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“The first is we will have a standing army of specialist public duty officers so that we will have enough officers to deal with this where we need them.

“The second is we will ramp up criminal justice. There have already been hundreds of arrests, some have appeared in court this morning.

“I have asked for early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved in the process who will feel the full force of the law.”

Already the government had agreed to release £29m funding for extra protection of mosques over the weekend with gangs targeting the Muslim community.

Among those in court today was a 14-year-old boy who aimed fireworks at police and the public.

The teenage rioter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court as cases were fast-tracked.

A string of judges hearing the first cases linked to the unrest have condemned the violence seen in riots which broke out in the wake of last week’s knife attack in Southport.

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Prosecutor Joshua Sanderson-Kirk said the teenager was among eight to 12 young people seen setting off fireworks towards the public and a police carrier in Clayton Square, Liverpool, at around 10.30pm on Saturday.

He said: “They exploded underneath the police carrier.”

The court heard the boy said “I’m sorry, I wasn’t firing them at you, though”, when he was arrested by police after they gave chase. He had five fireworks and a lighter in his possession.

Iqbal Singh Kang, defending, said the teenager had been in the city centre to catch a bus home, adding: “Without thinking things through, he became involved in something much more serious.”

The boy was released on bail ahead of his sentencing on 27 August.

Rioter Derek Drummond, 58, of Pool Street, Southport, admitted punching a police officer who was trying to protect his colleagues as they put on riot gear.

PC Thomas Ball was deployed to the mosque on St Luke's Road, Southport, where the riots first erupted last Tuesday where a group of around 300 people arrived shouting “this is our f****** country” and “scumbag b*****ds”.

Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard officers had to withdraw for fear of being overwhelmed, but PC Ball stood to protect colleagues as they put on protective equipment when Drummond became violent, shouting “s***houses” and punching him in the face.

Drummond was remanded in custody and will be sentenced for violent disorder and assault by beating of an emergency worker on 29 August.

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At the same court, Adam Wharton, 28, of Selwyn Street, Liverpool, also indicated a guilty plea to burglary with intent to steal after he was seen wearing a balaclava and “sweating profusely” outside Spellow Library in Liverpool on Sunday, which had been torched and looted the night before.

He was also remanded in custody to be sentenced on 29 August.

Another court heard how a rioter in Sunderland was wearing a balaclava but was identified by his distinctive sleeve of tattoos.

Josh Kellett, 29, of Southcroft, Washington, admitted violent disorder at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court after he was filmed throwing a stone towards police during clashes on Friday.

Kellett was remanded in custody until his sentencing at crown court on 2 September after a district judge said his case was “too serious for this court”.

One alleged rioter sobbed in the dock as he denied affray at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court.

Curtis Coulson, 30, wiped away tears as he appeared accused of swinging a stick at a woman outside Sheffield City Hall on Sunday.

The Cobra meeting was told there have been hundreds of arrests and people are already being charged. Police will continue to provide updates on specifics in relation to progress on arrests and charging.

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Tweeting after the Cobra meeting, Ms Cooper promised: “There will be a reckoning for criminals and thugs who took part in violence on streets, burning buildings, attacks on mosques, looting shops and the whipping up of racist violence online.”

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “So far 378 arrests have been made and we expect that total to rise each day as forces continue to identify those involved and continue to apprehend those responsible. Work is going on around the clock to do this and those involved will be brought to justice.”

Brian Booth, deputy national chair of the Police Federation, told The Independent that frontline officers are “absolutely being run ragged” doing 18-hour shifts as they face their sixth day of far-right unrest.

Officer morale was low before the rallies, he said, adding: “On top of this now some are not able to take annual leave with their families and having rest days cancelled to work long hours in very dangerous conditions.

“They will step up to the plate and do their duties without fear or favour to the best of their abilities but there has to be some recognition of that down the line.”