Rioters will "pay the price" amid violent clashes sparked by nationwide anti-Muslim protests, UK ministers warned on Saturday following violent confrontations in the past week between police and demonstrators, considered the worst outbreak of civil disorder in Britain in over a decade. 

“Criminal violence and disorder have no place on Britain’s streets,” Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, emphasizing the government's full support for law enforcement to take the strongest possible action.

"Anyone who gets involved in criminal disorder and violent thuggery on our streets will have to pay the price and they should expect there to be arrests, prosecutions, penalties, and the full force of the law including imprisonment and travel bans. There are consequences for breaking the law," she added.

Criminal violence and thuggery on our streets will not be tolerated.

Police forces have my full support in ensuring that those who engage in criminal disorder face the strongest possible penalties. pic.twitter.com/ZqoOHVXnVR

— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) August 3, 2024

Violent protests erupt across the UK

Newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer's new government is ultimately facing a major issue of implementing emergency powers to prevent the escalation of violence and to recall parliament throughout the country. 

Violence has ignited in multiple areas of the nation between both protesters and the police, as well as far-right anti-Mulsim groups and anti-racist demonstrators.

In Stoke-on-Trent, bricks were hurled at police, alongside fireworks thrown during tense confrontations between anti-Islamic and anti-racism groups in Belfast. 

Violence against Muslims also sparked, with the windows of a hotel used to house migrants smashed in Hull, resulting in three wounded police officers and four arrested people. 

“You’re not English anymore” and “pedo Muslims off our street" were shouted in Leeds by around 150 people carrying England's flag, outnumbering counter-protesters shouting "Nazi scum off our streets."

"Serious disorder" that led to several injured officers was characterized by protesters throwing bricks, bottles, and flares, as well as a chair that hit a police officer in the head in Liverpool city center. In response, the Greater Manchester law enforcement stated a dispersal notice had been authorized for the area, where rival groups confronted each other in Old Nottingham's Old Market Square with bottles and other items to throw at each other. 

“The system isn’t set up to deal with this rolling rabble rousing being fuelled by far-right actors," British politician Lord Walney said to The Observer concerning the urgent need for government intervention, adding, “I think home office ministers may want to look urgently at a new emergency framework – perhaps temporary in nature – that enables police to use the full powers of arrest to prevent people gathering where there is clear intent to fuel violent disorder.”

In a meeting held with senior ministers on Saturday, the prime minister said the government had given its full support to the police to combat extremists attempting “to sow hate by intimidating communities," highlighting the fine line between the right to freedom and violent expression. 

Southport knife attack and online disinformation ignited riots

This week's riots were sparked by Monday's Southport knife attack with 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, who claimed the lives of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, accused of being a Muslim migrant through the spread of misinformation on social media.

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The misinformation about the alleged identity of the Southport attacker was spread on social media by the English Defence League (EDL) and another far-right group called Britain First. In addition, the key factor enabling disinformation is the reinstatement of far-right activist and founder of the EDL Tommy Robinson on X, following his six-year ban from the online platform.

An example of danger imposed by the spread of disinformation on social media is the fabricated story of a stabbing incident in Stoke-on-Trent, which police were forced to deny.

“There is growing speculation that a stabbing has taken place as a result of the disorder today. We can confirm this information is false and no stabbings have been reported to police or emergency responders, despite videos fuelling speculation on social media,” police said.

Sunderland Central Labour MP Lewis Atkinson believed a potential link could be connected between the nation's violent civil disorder and the EDL, adding evidence suggests the involvement of a Nazi offshoot group in a violent demonstration in Sunderland city center.

500 demonstrators, including parents with their children, gathered in the city center to protest against the detrimental social media posts fabricated by far-right groups. The protest violently escalated with masked boys and men throwing missiles, bricks, stones, beer barrels, and scaffolding poles at the police. 

Increased arrests and enhanced security measures

10 people were arrested and four police officers were hospitalized following the violent Sunderland clashes. Ultimately, increased arrests of citizens and injured police officers have become a common occurrence within the past week. 

Violence broke out in Hartlepool, Manchester, and Whitehall, where over 100 people were arrested in protests in the latter city where bottles and cans were thrown at police officers. 

In an attempt to prevent further violence, the NPCC gold commander Ben-Julian “BJ” Harrington revealed that forces across the UK brought officers back from leave to deploy an additional 130 units of police support, with 2,000 officers. 

“Of course there is a limited number of officers, and every one that is taken from a community is not out there solving burglaries," he said. 

UK police urged to protect mosques amid 19 new far-right rallies

Given that at least 19 far-right protests are scheduled to take place across England in the coming days, police have been asked to increase their patrols outside mosques and asylum-seeker accommodations.

Community leaders expressed their growing dread of more chaos on Thursday, following the targeting of mosques and asylum seeker accommodations by groups of “intimidating” demonstrators.

Judge Andrew Menary KC, however, asserted that his identity should be made public because he believed that being anonymous would "allow others who are up to mischief to continue to spread disinformation in a vacuum."

Rudakubana is scheduled to appear in court in October and is charged with the murders of nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and six-year-old Bebe King, as well as 10 additional murder attempts.

Tuesday and Wednesday saw rioters destroy mosques in Southport and Hartlepool due to false online rumors that the culprit was Muslim, despite the fact that very little is known about his religious background or purpose.

Protesters with signs that said "deport them, don't support them" and "no apartments for illegals" targeted asylum seeker housing in Manchester and Aldershot, Hampshire. Protesters in central London hurled flares and cans while shouting "Rule Britannia," "Save our kids," and the catchphrase of the outgoing Conservative administration: "Stop the boats."

A firm that counsels religious leaders on safety, called Mosque Security, reported that in the last few days, it had received queries from more than 100 mosques requesting assistance.

Its director, Shaukat Warraich, claimed that "the false anti-Muslim narrative being peddled following the Southport murders" was the reason why the company's internet security tips had been downloaded "in their hundreds."

Reports surfaced this weekend that mosques canceled gatherings due to security concerns.