Authorities have reported that over 1,000 individuals have been arrested after days of rioting and racist attacks across the UK. The unrest, which began in response to the July 29 killings of three young girls in Southport, was fueled by misinformation falsely linking the attack to an Islamist migrant.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council provided an update on Tuesday (13), stating that 1,024 people had been arrested and 575 charged. The violence, which included arson, looting, and assaults targeting Muslims and migrants, spread across England and Northern Ireland. Recent efforts to identify and apprehend those involved have reduced the frequency of unrest.
Among those arrested is a 69-year-old accused of vandalism in Liverpool and an 11-year-old boy in Belfast. A 13-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, having been seen on July 31 attacking a hotel for asylum seekers.
Prosecutor Thomas Power described the incident involving the young girl as “alarming,” noting the distress it caused among those targeted. John Honey has also pleaded guilty to charges related to attacking a car containing Romanian men, assaulting police, and looting stores during the riots in Hull.
The violence was driven by false claims about the identity of the perpetrator. Recent arrests have included individuals charged with spreading hate online. The last major instance of widespread rioting in Britain occurred in 2011, following the police shooting of a Black man, resulting in about 4,000 arrests over several weeks.
