UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
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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