The Southport MP, Patrick Hurley, has said rioters must face the “full force of the law” after 39 police officers suffered serious injuries during violent protests following a vigil for the victims of Monday’s knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Merseyside police said those involved in the violent unrest in the north-west seaside town on Tuesday evening – who they believe included supporters of the English Defence League – set alight cars, threw bricks at a local mosque, damaged a local convenience store and set wheelie bins on fire.
The violent protests, which began at about 7.45pm, followed a peaceful vigil for the victims of the attack outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue attended by hundreds of people, with many in tears as they laid flowers and cards of remembrance.
The mother of one of the three girls killed in the knife attack made an impassioned plea to “stop the violence”.
Jenni Stancombe, the mother of Elsie Dot Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: “This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.”
Elsie, seven, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and Bebe King, six, were fatally stabbed in Southport on Monday. Eight other children suffered stab wounds and five are in a critical condition, alongside two adults who were also critically injured, police said.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, remains in custody.
North West ambulance service said 27 officers were taken to hospital, with 12 others being treated and discharged at the scene of the rioting. Merseyside police said eight officers suffered serious injuries including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion. Three police dogs were also injured.
Hurley said the violence was the result of “propaganda and lies” circulated on social media about the identity of the attacker within minutes of Monday’s tragic incident.
The MP condemned “beered-up thugs” who threw bricks, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “These were thugs who got the train in, these were not the people from Southport.
“They were using the horrific incident on Monday, the deaths of three little kiddies, for their own political purposes and actually to attack the very same first responders and the very same police, who had been on the scene on Monday, were then being pelted with bricks the day after by these thugs.”
He hit out at the “swirling morass” of social media “lies and propaganda”, saying they had fuelled rumours about the attacker’s identity as well as criticism of politicians. False claims had spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
He told Times Radio: “We’d had all sorts of lies being spread and misinformation being spread about the alleged perpetrator and some people with the best of intentions then they tried to rebut this, they tried to argue back, but all that happens is you’re just amplifying people’s false messaging.”
He added: “This misinformation doesn’t just exist on people’s internet browsers and on people’s phones. It has real-world impact.”
Dozens of people turned up outside Southport mosque on Wednesday morning with brushes and shovels to help with the clean-up operation.
Writing on X, Keir Starmer, the prime minister, said on Tuesday night: “The people of Southport are reeling after the horror inflicted on them yesterday. They deserve our support and our respect. Those who have hijacked the vigil for the victims with violence and thuggery have insulted the community as it grieves.”
The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, described the rioting as “violent attacks from thugs on the streets”, which she branded “appalling”.
In a post on social media, Merseyside police said shops had been broken into and looted, adding that “those responsible will be brought to justice”.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, Alex Goss, a Merseyside police assistant chief constable, said: “The actions in Southport tonight will involve many people who do not live in the Merseyside area or care about the people of Merseyside.
“There has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody, and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets.
“We have already said that the person arrested was born in the UK and speculation helps nobody at this time.”
The suspect, who was born in Cardiff, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport. A road in the area was cordoned off by detectives on Monday afternoon.
Police have said that, although the motive for the attack was unclear, it was not believed to be terror-related.
A 32-year-old man from Standish was arrested on suspicion of possession of a flick-knife in Eastbank Street, near where the vigil took place on Tuesday evening.
He was taken into custody and there were no reports that anyone was injured during the incident, Merseyside police said.
