LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has cancelled a planned holiday to focus on his government’s response to a series of racist riots that targeted Muslims and migrants, a Downing Street source said.
Thousands of police officers remained on duty over the weekend in case violence flared again although for a fourth day in a row on Saturday counter-protesters far outnumbered anti-migration demonstrators in several towns and cities.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Starmer would no longer be going on holiday next week.
His government has moved quickly to speed up the processing of people arrested and charged in relation to the riots.
On Friday, officials said 741 arrests had been made since the unrest broke out and 302 people had been charged.
Police have said arrests are likely to continue for months.
On Saturday, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, representing police leaders, said specialist officers had been ordered to pursue online offenders and influencers responsible for spreading hate and inciting violence on a large scale.
“Online crimes have real world consequences and you will be dealt with in the same way as those physically present and inflicting the violence,” Chris Haward, the NPCC’s lead for serious and organised crime, said.
At least two people were jailed in recent days for stirring up racial hatred in messages on social media.
The riots erupted after online posts falsely identified the suspected killer of three young girls in a knife attack on July 29 in Southport, northwest England, as an Islamist migrant.
King Charles on Friday made an appeal for mutual respect and understanding and welcomed the way that community groups had countered “the aggression and criminality from a few,” a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Giles Elgood)
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