British PM Condemns Far-Right Anti-Immigration Riots Across U.K.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned violent anti-immigration riots gripping the U.K., warning protesters they will face the full force of the law. The protests were triggered by misinformation about the religion of a man accused of killing three children at a dance class.
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00:00British police clash with rioters in the northern town of Rotherham as a wave of anti-immigration
00:07protests grip the UK.
00:10Rioters in several cities have spent days targeting asylum seekers, immigrants and ethnic
00:15minorities with violence, arson and looting, blaming the groups for a deadly stabbing in
00:21England's north.
00:22It's the worst social unrest here in years.
00:25In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the action
00:30from who he called far-right thugs.
00:33People in this country have a right to be safe.
00:38And yet we've seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques, other minority communities
00:46singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist
00:55rhetoric.
00:56So, no, I won't shy away from calling it what it is, far-right thuggery.
01:04The protests were triggered by a stabbing rampage at a dance class last week in the
01:08north of England that left three girls dead and several wounded.
01:13Social media misinformation claimed the suspected killer was a radical Muslim immigrant.
01:19But despite police revealing 17-year-old Axel Rudukabana was born in Britain and UK media
01:24reporting his family is Christian, anti-immigration and anti-Muslim riots have continued, leaving
01:30minority communities feeling at risk.
01:34I feel unsafe to stay in Southport, really.
01:38Britain's Interior Minister Yvette Cooper says the criminal action has no place on the
01:43UK streets and promises rioting will face the full force of the law.
01:48I want everyone to be clear.
01:50Anyone who gets involved in criminal disorder, violent thuggery on our streets will have
01:57to pay the price and they should expect there to be arrests, prosecutions, penalties and
02:02the full force of the law including imprisonment, travel bans and more.
02:07One hundred and fifty arrests have already been made.
02:10And far-right protesters have also been met with pushback from counter-demonstrators chanting
02:15refugees are welcome here.
02:18Many residents say those rioting don't represent the wider community and have come out in numbers
02:22to clean up and stand in solidarity with those being targeted.
02:27I think it was really important to show the people of Springbank, our black and Asian
02:31community that if people are going to bring 200 people out to incite hate, we're going
02:38to bring 20,000 out to incite good.
02:41Police have been granted extra powers to bring the disorder under control as far-right protesters
02:46plan to continue taking to the streets while the cabinet holds an emergency meeting, searching
02:52for a way to put an end to the hate-fueled violence.
02:56Alex Chen, Rosie Greninger and Harrell Hughes for Taiwan Plus.