Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the “gang of violent thugs” behind disorder following the Southport stabbings as he announced a new national policing response.Sir Keir met with police chiefs on Thursday after protests in Southport, central London, Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot broke out this week.Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Sir Keir said the violence was fanned by the far-right, while announcing new preventative action to tackle “hooligans” from travelling to areas to stir disorder.He announced what he called a new "capability" across police forces to co-ordinate a response to the violent disorder seen in parts of England.
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00:00Let me now turn to the actions of a tiny, mindless minority in our society.
00:07Because in the aftermath of this attack, the community of Southport had to suffer twice.
00:14A gang of thugs got on trains and buses, went to a community that is not their own,
00:21a community grieving the most horrific tragedy,
00:25and then proceeded to throw bricks at police officers who just 24 hours earlier
00:36had been having to deal with an attack on children in their community.
00:45And make no mistake, whether it's in Southport, London or Hartlepool,
00:53these people are showing our country exactly who they are.
00:58Mosques targeted because they're mosques.
01:02Flares thrown at the statue of Winston Churchill.
01:05A Nazi salute at the Cenotaph.
01:09And so I've just held a meeting with senior police and law enforcement leaders
01:14where we've resolved to show who we are.
01:18A country that will not allow understandable fear to curdle into division and hate in our communities.
01:26And that will not permit, under any circumstances, a breakdown in law and order on our streets.
01:34Because let's be very clear about this.
01:37It's not protest. It's not legitimate.
01:42It's crime. Violent disorder.
01:46An assault on the rule of law and the execution of justice.
01:50And so on behalf of the British people, who expect their values and their security to be upheld,
01:58we will put a stop to it.
02:01I want to thank all of the police officers across the country
02:06who have already, as they do so often,
02:09stood up to intimidation and violence in the past few days and throughout the summer.
02:16And let me be clear.
02:19The meeting this afternoon was not about pointing the finger of blame.
02:25That is not how this government of service conducts its business.
02:30Because it doesn't work.
02:33Rather, this was a meeting to pull together our response
02:38both to the immediate challenge, which is clearly driven by far-right hatred,
02:44but also all violent disorder that flares up, whatever the apparent cause or motivation.
02:51We make no distinction.
02:54Crime is crime.
02:56And so to that end, I can announce today that following this meeting,
03:01we will establish a national capability across police forces
03:05to tackle violent disorder.
03:08These thugs are mobile.
03:10They move from community to community.
03:13And we must have a policing response that can do the same.
03:17Shared intelligence.
03:19Wider deployment of facial recognition technology.
03:22And preventative action, criminal behavior orders, to restrict their movements
03:28before they can even board a train.
03:30In just the same way that we do with football hooligans.
03:35And let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them,
03:41violent disorder clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime.
03:47It's happening on your premises.
03:50And the law must be upheld everywhere.
03:53That is the single most important duty of government.
03:57Service rests on security.
03:59And we will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.