UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots

Far-right rioters attack Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England

A mob attacked a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham where asylum seekers were being housed

(Image credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)

What happened

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday condemned a spate of "far-right thuggery" that broke out across the U.K. over the past week, including a mob attack on a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham where asylum seekers were being housed. The anti-immigrant violence, much of it targeting Muslims, started after false rumors spread on social media that the suspect in a fatal knife attack at a children's dance class in Southport last Monday was an immigrant.

Who said what

People who "participated in this violence will face the full force of the law," and authorities will "do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice," Starmer said. "This is not protest. It is organized, violent thuggery." Conservative opposition leader Rishi Sunak agreed that the perpetrators of the "shocking scenes" across Britain "must face the full weight of the law."

What next?

Hundreds of people have been arrested and many more arrests were "likely as police scour CCTV, social media and body-worn camera footage," The Associated Press said. But "the courts will face a challenge in processing all the charges at a time when the criminal justice system is overstretched."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.