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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Jabed Ahmed

Mapped: Violent protests grip the country with fears of more to come

Jacob King/PA Wire

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Nearly 400 people have been arrested following violence and disorder across the country for a seventh day after the Southport stabbings, with police warning that further violence is likely in the coming days.

Several towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland saw violent clashes involving far-right demonstrators, with dozens of police officers left injured.

There was unrest in Birmingham, Manchester, HullLiverpoolBristolStoke-on-TrentBlackpool, Rotherham, Middlesbrough and Belfast, with missiles thrown and shops looted.

The string of violent incidents over the past few days began on Tuesday 30 July in Southport, after three girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer vowed rioters would regret engaging in “far-right thuggery” and face the full force of the law.

Follow our live coverage of the UK riots

The interactive map below shows the towns and cities where there was disorder and the number of arrests made.

The far right has drawn condemnation from MPs across the political spectrum after disorder in London, Manchester, Southport and Hartlepool came before the weekend’s violence.

False claims had spread online that the suspect, later identified as a 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana from Lancashire, was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat in 2023.

Arrests have been made across the country with police warning of more to come once CCTV, social media and body-worn camera footage has been scoured.

Devon and Cornwall Police said six arrests were made in Plymouth on Monday after several officers suffered minor injuries and two members of the public were taken to hospital.

In Southport, hundreds of people attended a peaceful vigil a week on from the killings of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar. Children blew bubbles and others left flowers and heart-shaped balloons.

Police in Northern Ireland said officers were “dealing with ongoing disorder” in the Donegall Road area of south Belfast, with the BBC reporting riot officers had stones and petrol bombs thrown at them.

Sky News reported on Monday that one of its vans was attacked in Birmingham by a “knife-wielding man”.

There were ugly scenes of anti-immigration rioters attacking police and smashing the windows of a hotel in Rotherham on Sunday as the atmosphere turned increasingly febrile on Sunday.

Masked men hurled lengths of wood, chairs and bottles, and sprayed fire extinguishers at officers outside after some 700 people gathered.

At least 10 officers were injured, including one who was knocked unconscious, South Yorkshire Police confirmed later, saying one person had been arrested and that others involved should “expect us to be at their doors very soon”.

Masked men hurled lengths of wood, chairs and bottles in Rotherham on Sunday (Reuters)

On Monday, the prime minister said a “standing army” of specialist police officers was being assembled to crack down on rioting, as he called for perpetrators to be named and shamed.

Sir Keir Starmer vowed to “ramp up criminal justice” after an emergency Cobra meeting was called following disorder over the weekend which saw rioters storm hotels housing asylum seekers.

Downing Street criticised X owner Elon Musk for claiming “civil war is inevitable” in the UK, with officials suggesting online misinformation fuelling disorder on Britain’s streets may be being amplified by foreign state actors.

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