Jail cells are cleared and lawyers put on standby in crackdown amid fears of weekend of riots:... (original) (raw)

Britain is braced for a weekend of unrest, as jail cells are cleared and lawyers put standby in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

More than 35 rallies are planned in towns and cities across the UK, raising fears that scenes already seen this week of police being attacked and vehicles set alight could be repeated.

Extra lawyers have been hauled in for weekend duty in preparation for a mass crackdown on miscreants, while some plans suggest shuffling prisoners around the country free up more cells in the at risk areas.

It comes as Sunderland was besieged last night, when rioting yobs torched a police station and looted shops, as riot police were attacked with bricks and missiles by hooligans.

The latest mayhem came as Southport's MP slammed the thugs for their actions, and branded them as 'disgusting extremists hijacking grief', following the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party earlier this week.

Britain is braced for a weekend of unrest after far-right agitators urged people to take to the streets in the wake of the Southport stabbings

More than 35 rallies are planned in towns and cities across the UK, raising fears that scenes already seen this week of police being attacked and vehicles set alight could be repeated

Police officers form a wall across a road as protests erupted in Sunderland on Friday night

Patrick Hurley, the MP for Southport brutally hit out at the rioters as he told the Times: 'And the police who were being attacked on Tuesday night, in many instances, were the exact same police officers who a day earlier had probably had the single most traumatic day of their professional lives, attending the scene in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity.

'Then 24 hours later, they're having bricks thrown at them. It's absolutely disgusting. And it needs to be called out for the extremism it is.

'It's hijacking the raw emotions of a town in turmoil. It was hijacking the grief of the families.'

In Sunderland, thugs firebombed one of the town's police stations - with thugs then seen charging through halls, smashing windows and breaking tables.

Flames engulfed the central police office on Waterloo Place as rioters ransacked the HQ, while a mob of hundreds of people marched through the streets of the northern town - as Britain's summer of discontent rages on.

Violent blows were dealt between officers and yobs, as bricks and beer cans were flung through the air, and cars were flipped and set alight.

Details of the planned demonstrations for this weekend have been spread by far-right social media accounts and groups on encrypted messaging apps as they seek to whip up crowds.

Former business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch speaking to the Telegraph warned that 'you can't just ignore the tension.'

'They should be saying that we need a clearer strategy on integration, which we don't have at the moment.

'Instead, we just pretend that everything is fine and it's a few bad apples, which is sometimes the case. But if you want to have a successful multi-racial country, you need to make an effort to do that. You can't just pretend that there are no tensions.'

Riots have ignited in Sunderland in the aftermath of the stabbing in Southport. Pictured: An overturned car on fire

A yob sprays fire extinguisher foam at armed police in Sunderland city centre on Friday evening

Firefighters tackle damage from the blaze following violence in Sunderland

The action in Sunderland last night is the latest following the stabbing in Southport in which three young children were killed and eight others suffered knife wounds.

Violence erupted after a remembrance vigil for Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, on Tuesday after thugs travelled into the seaside town and centred a riot around the local mosque - whose windows were smashed in a brutal attack.

An eighth person has been arrested over the disorder in Southport on Tuesday evening.

Merseyside Police said a 32-year-old man, from Wigan, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of violent disorder and remains in custody for questioning.

On Wednesday evening, more than 100 protesters were arrested on Whitehall, where bottles and cans were thrown at police, and violence broke out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and in Manchester outside the Holiday Inn on Oldham Road.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced a new 'national' response to the disorder linking police forces across the country.

Protesters draped in England flags let off flares in Sunderland town centre

Protesters hurl bricks at police on horseback near an Aldi store

And on Friday evening rioters battled police in the streets of Sunderland city centre following a planned protest linked to the Southport knife attack.

Hundreds of people gathered in Keel Square, many of them draped in England flags, and members of the crowd chanted in support of Tommy Robinson, while others shouted insults about Islam.

Some protesters were involved in violence, setting an overturned car on fire, while others targeted a mosque.

Among the hundreds taking to the street in the besieged town in the north east included a shirtless man with a nazi tattoo emblazoned across his chest.

The topless man was filmed launching into a racist tirade, saying: 'This time in your own f***ing country if you're ashamed to be f***ing white and be an Englishman… f*** off.'

Videos posted on social media appeared to show a fire at a city centre police office, which was marked permanently closed on Google Maps and was no longer listed on a police station finder on Northumbria Police's website.

Since then Championship football club Sunderland have issued a statement condemning the 'shameful scenes' that took place in the Wearside city on Friday night.

It said: 'Tonight's shameful scenes do not represent our culture, our history, or our people.

'Our great city is built on togetherness and acceptance, and Sunderland will forever be for all. We are stronger as one community. Now. Then. Always.'

Northumbria Police said in a post on X that its officers had been 'subjected to serious violence', and added that three officers were taken to hospital.

Eight people have so far been arrested for a range of offences, including violent disorder and burglary, the force added.