UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has strongly condemned an attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers during which at least 10 police officers were injured, one seriously, describing it as “far-right thuggery”.
Violence has broken out across the country following a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and many more wounded last week.
In a statement from 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, the prime minister vowed that the authorities would “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice” and that justice would be swift.
Riot police are confronted by far-right activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland over the weekend.Credit: Getty Images
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves,” he said.
“This is not a protest, it is organised, violent thuggery and it has no place on our streets or online.”
Starmer was speaking after another day of far-right violence, which was particularly acute in the north of England town of Rotherham, where police struggled to hold back hundreds of rioters who sought to break into a Holiday Inn Express hotel being used as accommodation for asylum seekers.
Before bringing the riot under some sort of control, police officers with shields had faced a barrage of missiles, including bits of wood, chairs and fire extinguishers.
South Yorkshire Police, which is responsible for Rotherham, said at least 10 officers had been injured, including one who was left unconscious.
“The behaviour we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting. While it was a smaller number of those in attendance who chose to commit violence and destruction, those who simply stood on and watched remain absolutely complicit in this,” said Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield.
Far-right agitators have sought to take advantage of last week’s stabbing attack by tapping into concerns about the scale of immigration in the UK, in particular the tens of thousands of migrants arriving in small boats from France across the English Channel.
AP
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