UK riots latest: Starmer warns rioters will be sentenced 'within a week' - as police prepare for 'big day' of at least 30 protests (2024)

More riots are expected to take place this week, with police sources telling Sky News around 30 are due to break out tomorrow.

But while disorder continues to erupt, some communities have come together to clean up the mess that has been left behind.

In Liverpool, more than £100,000 has been raised for a library that was torched.

In Southport, where the riots began, locals have cleared the streets and rebuilt walls.

Police in Durham have issued dispersal orders to 37 people who arrived in the city centre this evening.

People aged between 13 and 38 were given the orders, which will remain in place until 12pm tomorrow.

A 15-year-old boy was also arrested for a public order offence, Durham Police said.

It came after intelligence suggested public disorder was expected to break out.

Reminder: A dispersal order can be used in a wide range of situations in order to offer immediate relief to a community.

These powers enable officers and PCSOs to direct a person to leave a specified area and not to return for 48 hours.

By Tom Clarke, science and technology editor

"We feel very proud, very excited to have you," said Rishi Sunak as he introduced Elon Musk in London last November.

Now his successor, Keir Starmer, must wish Musk would just go away.

While the government knows the very unhelpful views of a private individual would best be ignored, when that individual has 193 million followers on a social media platform they own, that isn't going to work.

Musk's promotion of far right cause

Musk is well known for controversial posts on X, the platform he owns, but this is something different.

He appears to be on a mission, criticising the causes and policing of the ongoing riots, and getting personal, too.

He's used the hashtag #2tierkeir in reference to right-wing criticism of alleged two-tier policing, and interacted with far-right activists like Tommy Robinson - handing the former EDL leader a level of profile he could only have dreamed of at a pivotal moment.

And it's not just the UK in his sights…

But Musk isn't just trolling the UK government - having come out in support for Donald Trump's re-election bid, he's also ramped up his opinions about US politics and criticism of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Are we simply seeing a rightward slide in Musk's politics?

There's more to it than that. Legislation like the UK's Online Harms Act, the EU's equivalent, and efforts to pass the same in the US, could threaten his social media business.

The balance of power is shifting

That meeting between Sunak and Musk confirmed something that should trouble all democracies: the balance of global power has shifted.

Musk – or his business interests in AI and building gigafactories for electric car batteries – was seen as a solution to some of the UK's woes.

He has wealth rivalling that of smaller nation states, giving him privilege and power akin to world leaders.

But he's not bound by the same rules - and he knows it.

No longer seen as a solution to our needs, he's now a massive problem.

A 15-year-old boy has been charged after riots broke out in Belfast last night.

The teenager will now appear in court accused of two counts of riot and possession of a weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said he was due to appear at Belfast Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

Nigel Farage, who has been accused of contributing to the ongoing riots through his initial response to the Southport attack which sparked them, has been defending himself this evening.

The day after the stabbings, he posted a video on social media suggesting police might be hiding information from the public.

That was amid rampant, false, online speculation the suspect was a Muslim migrant who had arrived on a small boat.

We later found out he was Cardiff-born teenager Axel Rudakubana.

Farage told LBC radio earlier: "I asked a very simple question: was this person known [to the security services] or not?"

The Clacton MP denied having fallen for false claims about the suspect, saying he "didn't believe any of it".

Farage accuses PM of 'misreading' crisis

In another video later posted on X, Mr Farage said it had been an "appalling" few days and described rioters as "thugs".

But he also accused the prime minister of having "misread" the crisis by calling out the actions of the far right - and repeated his accusations of two-tier policing that have been denied by top cops and the PM himself.

The Reform leader referred to the actions of Muslim counter-protesters who surrounded a Sky News crew in Birmingham yesterday, including a masked man wielding a knife who stabbed the tyre of their van.

Watch Sky News van being attacked:

He also criticised the policing of previous Black Lives Matter protests, singling out the Whitehall statue of Winston Churchill "being defaced" and the Cenotaph "being abused".

It's worth noting the Churchill statue was pelted by flares during a far right rally in the capital last Wednesday - and some protesters were also seen doing Nazi salutes at the Cenotaph.

A total of 51 police officers were injured during the riots outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, police have confirmed.

Violence broke out outside the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Manvers on Sunday, with rocks and long pieces of wood thrown at the building and officers who had lined up to protect it.

South Yorkshire Police said a number of its officers had suffered broken bones, a concussion, head wounds and bruising.

Horses and dogs were also hurt, with one police horse forced to retire from duty that day after sustaining a hoof injury.

'We are determined to secure justice'

It comes as the force expects more riots to take place across South Yorkshire in the coming days.

"Our frontline colleagues had missiles thrown at them including concrete blocks, chairs, tree branches, fire extinguishers, glass bottles and cans during the completely unacceptable scenes," the force said in a statement.

"Officers who have been unable to resume frontline duties as a result of their injuries are now part of the team trawling through footage and gathering evidence to secure arrests and charges.

"We are determined to secure justice against all of those involved in this horrendous disorder."

It added it was closely monitoring reports of more planned events, and had "proportionate policing plans in place to respond".

We've just heard from the prime minister after he chaired another emergency COBRA meeting this evening.

Sir Keir Starmer said it was to "coordinate our response" to the disorder between government, police, and other agencies.

With hundreds of people having been arrested so far, and some having faced charges in court, he said he was expecting "substantive sentencing before the end of this week".

"That should send a very powerful message to anybody involved, either directly or online, that you are likely to be dealt with within a week and nobody, but nobody should be involving themselves in this disorder."

Rioters will 'feel full force of law'

In total, more than 400 people have been arrested and 100 have been charged, Sir Keir said.

Asked if he thought the unrest could escalate tomorrow, he said the government's first duty was to ensure that communities were safe.

"Anybody involving themselves in this disorder is going to feel the full force of the law," he added.

He said the government was "doing everything" it could to ensure people were safe, with support and police officers in vulnerable areas.

No response to Musk criticism

Asked about the comments made by Elon Musk in recent days, including that civil war was "inevitable" in the UK, the prime minister refused to be drawn on them.

"Our first duty has to be to our community, to keep them safe. That is my sole focus," he added.

Violent riots have been taking place across the country for a week now - and more are reportedly planned for tomorrow night.

They began in Southport last Tuesday in the wake of an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class that killed three children and injured eight others.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested but, due to his age, Merseyside Police were unable to identify him.

False claims circulated online about him, including that he was an asylum seeker.

The following day, protests began. Large groups of people gathered outside a mosque in Southport, and disorder broke out.

Since then, riots have taken place in several areas of the country including in London, Liverpool, Sunderland, Hull and Bristol.

Here's how a week of unrest unfolded...

This evening's emergency COBRA meeting about the riots has ended in the past few minutes.

It was the second such gathering in as many days, again chaired by the prime minister as the government looks to get a grip on the crisis.

Ministers, police chiefs and other personnel involved have started departing and we should be getting an update on what was discussed a little later this evening.

People who are racist to NHS staff "can and should" be turned away from care, the health secretary has said.

Wes Streeting condemned the "mindless thuggery" of rioters after two Filipino nurses were attacked on Friday evening as they travelled to work to provide emergency cover after riots erupted in Sunderland.

Mr Streeting said the people behind the attack had "brought enormous shame on our country".

"People who are abusing NHS staff can be turned away, and should be turned away, if that is the way that they are treating our staff," he said.

"I will not tolerate, under any circ*mstances, NHS or social care staff in any health or care setting being subjected to intimidation, harassment or racist abuse."

The Royal College of Nursing said it had updated its guidance on when and how members can refuse to treat a patient in their care after Mr Streeting's remarks.

"This is the most difficult decision, and every situation and patient interaction is unique," Professor Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the RCN, said.

"I am demanding that government ensures anybody targeting our members pays a very heavy price. Hearing that nurses going to work in Sunderland came under attack is unforgivable.

"Migrant nursing staff are precious members of our communities, hardwired into the very DNA of our health and care services. Our international colleagues are welcome, valued and owed a debt of gratitude."