UK government calls emergency Cobra meeting in wake of sixth day of violence

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Uk Government Calls Emergency Cobra Meeting In Wake Of Sixth Day Of Violence
UK home secretary Yvette Cooper said courts were on standby to handle the cases of those charged. Photo: PA Imagtes
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The UK government has called an emergency Cobra meeting while courts stood ready to take cases as a sixth day of disorder saw rioters storm hotels housing asylum seekers.

Police clashed with crowds as the escalating violence – one week on from the Southport stabbings – continued over the weekend across the country.

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Several suspects are due to face charges in court on Monday, as ministers and police chiefs are due to descend on Downing Street for the meeting which will set out the response for the coming days in a bid to clamp down on further unrest.

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Facing the biggest challenge to his premiership so far, UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the nation on Sunday, telling perpetrators they would “regret” engaging in “far-right thuggery” and promising those involved in unrest that they would “face the full force of the law”.

While UK home secretary Yvette Cooper said the courts are on “stand-by” to ensure “swift justice”.

Four men are due to appear in court in Belfast after violence broke out in Northern Ireland, with others called before magistrates in Merseyside, South Tyneside and Teesside.

It comes as one of her predecessors, Priti Patel, said she would not feel safe in some of the areas where violence unfolded and that the racism on display was no different from that of the 1970s and 1980s.

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The Home Office brought in urgent measures on Sunday to make sure mosques were offered extra protection so any threats of more attacks on places of worship could be responded to quickly.

A mosque in Middlesbrough was the latest of several to be targeted.

POLICE Southport
(PA Graphics)

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Meanwhile in Rotherham, anti-immigration rioters smashed the windows of the Holiday Inn Express before starting fires.

Masked men hurled lengths of wood, chairs and bottles with some spraying fire extinguishers at police officers amid the 700-strong crowd.

At least 10 officers were injured, with one knocked unconscious, South Yorkshire Police said. One arrest had already been made and others involved should “expect us to be at their doors very soon”, the force warned.

A similar incident played out at a Holiday Inn hotel in Tamworth on Sunday evening, where reports suggested asylum seekers were also being housed, in a scene which saw fires, smashed windows and missiles being thrown at officers, Staffordshire Police said.

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Earlier in the afternoon, a group of rioters in Middlesbrough smashed the windows of houses and cars and threw objects at officers, with one seen shouting a racial slur and another telling police: “It’s our f****** country.”

There were 43 arrests, with crown court and university buildings sustaining significant damage, Cleveland Police said.

A chair is launched at police officers as a group of people gathers outside a hotel
A chair is launched at police officers outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham (Danny Lawson/PA)

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police used powers amid disturbances in Bolton to order people to “remove face coverings used to disguise or conceal their appearance”.

The widespread and continued disorder, which broke out in the wake of a knife attack last week which left three girls dead, prompted some MPs to demand Parliament is recalled so the problems can be debated in the Commons, as it was during the 2011 riots.

The Government has also faced calls for the army to be called in to quell the unrest but ministers have so far insisted police have the resources needed to respond.

Ms Priti told Times Radio: “I would not feel safe in some of the areas and communities where we’ve seen racism and thuggery on our streets.

“I grew up with people using the P-word against me.

Damage at the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth, Staffordshire, after a mob attacked it on Sunday
Damage at the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth, Staffordshire, after a mob attacked it on Sunday (Jacob King/PA)

“And I think some of the individuals that are now involved in this violence, disorder and racism that we are seeing in parts of the country – that’s no different to the type of racism that I experienced when I was growing up, and I just think that there’s no place for that in our amazing country,” she added.

The Tory MP for Witham in Essex said that claims there is “two-tier policing” in Britain, where right-wing protests are dealt with more harshly than left-wing ones, are “not correct”.

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