London: PM calls for security council meeting amid protest 

By Stephen Asaba-ase

The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said, Muslim Communities are the targeted spots of the violent protesters, adding that the protesters would face the “full weight of the law”.

Congress news learnt that, the three young girls that had been stabbed to death in the northwest English town of Southport last week have been seized by the anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups, with misinformation spreading online and intensified by high-profile far-right figures to spark disorder in towns and cities.

Meanwhile, Starmer said, “Whatever the reasons, this is not protest, it is pure violence and we will not tolerate assault on mosques or our Muslim communities, adding that, on Monday after an emergency meeting with police and prison chiefs.

“The full force of the law will be meted on all those identified as taken part on the violence erupted on Tuesday after social media posts, adding that the suspected assaults in Southport was a extreme Islamist who had just arrived in Britain, known for intelligence services.

However, a reliable source revealed that, the protest, mostly involved a few hundred people, having continued in towns and cities across the UK, with bricks thrown at police officers, shops looted and mosques and Asian-owned businesses attacked. Cars have been set on fire and some unverified videos on social media have shown ethnic minorities being beaten up.

Interior minister Yvette Cooper said rioters had felt “emboldened by this moment to stir up racial hatred”.

She promised a reckoning to those involved, saying the government would back punishments ranging from jail sentences to travel bans. Police have arrested around 420 so far.In Rotherham, northern England, protesters tried to break into a hotel that housed asylum seekers in what Starmer called an act of “far-right thuggery”.

“The Protests also turned violent in Liverpool, Bristol, Tamworth, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Belfast, in Northern Ireland, with largely young men wearing balaclavas and draped in the British flag hurling rocks and shouting “Stop the Boats”, a reference to migrants arriving in dinghies on the south coast.

In some places they were met by large groups of counter protesters, with police often struggling to keep the two sides apart.

Starmer said a “standing army” of specialist police officers would tackle outbreaks of violence where needed.

Meantime, the interior Minister also said, “I hope that the UK (government) will take initiative to calm down the tension.”

Commuters in London said protesters were intent on violence.

“I actually think the people rioting are probably puppets, who want to stir up trouble, the interior minister, Cooper briefed journalist that the government would pursue Media companies that are spreading fake news, adding that justification will not be accepted about violent against immigrants.

“Reasonable people who have all those sorts of views and concerns do not pick up bricks and throw them at the police,” she said.