Sunderland MP Lewis Atkinson speaks on disorder

Transcript

00:00I'm relieved that Sunderland was calm and quiet last night, despite rumours that we

00:04were going to be targeted. I want to just update you all about where I think we are.

00:09As you'd expect, I'm in regular contact with the authorities and I spoke to the Chief

00:12Constable yesterday as part of that. There will continue to be an increased and

00:17visible police presence across Sunderland in coming days. That's for three reasons.

00:22First of all, to reassure. We know people are shaken by what happened on Friday and

00:27increased police visibility now reassures and reminds us that it's the law-abiding

00:32majority who are in charge of our streets. Secondly, there's more police around because

00:38their investigation into what happened on Friday night continues. They continue to arrest

00:44people who are involved in violent disorder and those criminals continue to feel the full

00:50force of the law. Finally, there's more police around so they

00:55have the resources available to respond immediately if there was any suggestion that the scenes

01:00we saw last Friday were going to be repeated. I would emphasise that seeing increased police

01:06presence is not a sign that something is about to happen or that trouble is expected. I understand

01:13that people are anxious after Friday of course, but I want to assure you that the police don't

01:18just have officers on the streets, but they also have a significant intelligence operation

01:23working and assessing anything that's posted on social media for risk and credibility.

01:30They will respond accordingly. So the police are advising us that the people, businesses

01:36and organisations of Sunderland can go about their day-to-day business in a normal way

01:43with the extra reassurance that additional police presence is here. If the police advice

01:48changes, they will tell us. I also want to emphasise that the police are

01:53continuing to respond as normal to all reports of crime and incidents, so please keep reporting

01:58anything that happens as you normally would. That includes, please, any instances of racism

02:04or hate incidents that you see or that you experience. As ever, if we don't report incidents,

02:11then not only can the police not take appropriate action, but they also don't have the information

02:16that we need about what's happening where in the city that helps inform and plan future

02:21work. I know we all want Sunderland to be back open

02:24as normal. This is a class city and we've got such a bright future together. We're not

02:30going to be defined by this. I'm so proud of how people have responded

02:34to what happened last week. I want to thank you and I want to repeat my thanks to the

02:39police officers who not only bravely stood up to the thugs on Friday night, but who are

02:44now working extra shifts to reassure us. Together, we're not going to let a tiny minority

02:51win. Let's have a good few days, Sunderland, and I hope to see you soon.