Rioters on Sunday set fire to and broke into hotels housing asylum seekers in northern England, where the country is grappling with its worst social unrest in years.
The violence was sparked by the stabbing of three young girls in Southport, northwest England, earlier this week. The far right seized on and spread a wave of disinformation, including false claims that the attacker was an immigrant, to mobilize anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant protests. According to police, the suspect was born in Britain.
Geolocated CNN footage shows protesters vandalizing and setting fire to two Holiday Inns in northern England on Sunday: one in Tamworth, which had previously been criticized by a local politician for housing asylum seekers, and another in Rotherham.
In Tamworth, protesters threw projectiles, smashed windows and set fires, injuring one police officer, according to local authorities. Meanwhile, in Rotherham, protesters threw wooden planks, used fire extinguishers against police officers, set fire to objects near a hotel and smashed windows to get into the building, police said.
The Rotherham Hotel was "full of terrified residents and staff" at the time, according to a statement from Deputy Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the weekend's violent protests, which have seen at least 147 people arrested since Saturday night. Those involved in the violence will face the full force of the law, he warned.
“People in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we have seen attacks on Muslim communities, attacks on mosques, singling out other minority communities, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on police, indiscriminate violence along with racist rhetoric. So no, I'm not going to be shy about calling it what it is: Far-right thugs," Starmer said from Downing Street on Sunday.
Turning to the violent scenes in Rotherham, Starmer described "robbery gangs intent on breaking the law" and stressed that the violent rioters "do not represent our country".
Britain's police minister said a "swift approach" would be taken against the far-right rioters who sparked the riots, but added there was no need to bring in the army.
In comments to the BBC, Dame Diana Johnson stressed that the plan was to make quick arrests and charges to get rioters off the street as quickly as possible and act as a deterrent to prevent further disturbances. The violent unrest is the worst since riots in 2011 and poses a huge challenge to Keir Starmer's Labor government just weeks after it took power.
There have been discussions about bringing in the military to assist the police, but at this time, "there is no need to bring in the military," Johnson said. “The police have made it clear they have all the resources they need at this time. There is mutual aid, as I have just described, and they have the powers they need."
On Sunday, the UK Home Office announced that mosques in the UK would be offered "increased protection with new emergency security" in light of the recent attacks.
Under the new measures, "police, local authorities and mosques can request the rapid deployment of security measures to protect communities and enable a return to worship as quickly as possible," the interior ministry said.
"No one should apologize for the disgraceful actions of hooligans, thugs and extremist groups who have attacked police officers, looted local shops or targeted people based on the color of their skin," said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.