UK prime minister made the announcement on Monday after he convened officials for an urgent meeting aimed at tackling growing far-right violence enshrouding the nation.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday a “standing army” comprising specialist police would be set up to deal with far-right rioting currently gripping the country.
There would also be a “ramp up” of the justice system to name the approximate 400 individuals arrested during violent clashes that have rocked the nation of the past week, he said outside 10 Downing Street.
Starmer described the actions of those demonstrating as “pure violence” and “not protest”. “We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim community,” he added.
Starmer convened an urgent meeting dubbed “Cobra” with cabinet ministers and intelligence officials after lawlessness, which he blamed on far-right activists and misinformation on social media.
It was whipped up anger over a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and many more wounded. False rumours spread online that the suspect was an asylum-seeker, which led to attacks on immigrants and Muslims.
“The full force of the law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part in these activities,” Starmer said.
On Sunday, angry mobs attacked two hotels used to house asylum seekers, breaking windows and lighting fires before police dispersed the crowds and residents were evacuated.
Dozens of police officers have been hospitalised for injuries in the past six days after being struck with bricks, bottles and large wooden posts.
Oliver Coppard, the mayor of South Yorkshire, where one of the hotels was attacked, attributed the violence to “far-right thugs”.
“As Keir said, as every decent person has said, I think these are far-right thugs who attacked some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and there is absolutely no excuse,” Coppard told the BBC.
“There can never be any excuse for trying to burn to death 200 of the most vulnerable people in our community.”
A Starmer spokesperson said no requests have been made to call in the army.
The Home Office, which is responsible for law and order, has offered mosques greater protection under a new “rapid response process” designed to quickly tackle the threat of further attacks on places of worship.
Starmer’s spokesperson said after the meeting that social media companies have not done enough to prevent the spread of misinformation that has fuelled far-right violence and vowed that anyone who stokes the disorder — online or on the streets — could face prison. Some of that false and misleading information has come from foreign states.
“The disinformation that we’ve seen online attracts amplification from known bot activity, which, as I say, can be linked to state-backed activity,” the spokesperson said in a read-out of the meeting.
