Sunderland riot police chief warns 'We are coming for you' as arrests climb to ten from night of... (original) (raw)

A Sunderland police chief has issued a warning to rioters the number of arrests climb to ten following a night of destructive chaos in the city.

The warning follows the emergence of a horrific video which showed a wooden spike being launched at a female police officer like a spear.

As riots organised by the far right continue to spread across the UK this weekend, Sunderland today faced the task of cleaning up the city after violent thugs caused mayhem in the North East city last night.

As a part of the clean up, Northumbria Police are now hunting down those responsible for the widespread destruction and have said those responsible should 'expect to be met with the full force of the law.'

Chief Superintendent Mark Hall said a full investigation is now under way to identify those responsible.

In the footage a topless man can be seen approaching a wall of police officers, dressed in riot gear and armed with shields, who are surrounded by protesters who can be heard shouting expletives

In the footage a woman is hit in the back of the head by a wooden spike which was launched at her from behind

A police car set on fire in Sunderland. As a part of the clean up, Northumbria Police are now hunting down those responsible for the widespread destruction and have said those responsible should 'expect to be met with the full force of the law'

He said: 'Make no mistake, if you were involved last night, expect to be met with the full force of the law.'

He condemned the 'attempt to drive division amongst us' and said 'we are committed to make sure that doesn't happen'.

The Chief Superintendent added: 'I can confirm that four officers were taken to hospital for treatment last night.

'Three received injuries as a direct result of the disorder.

'In addition, one of our mounted riders sustained serious injuries in an accident and is receiving treatment in hospital.'

So far the force has made ten arrests.

A shocking video that has emerged from last night's unrest shows a female police officer being hit in the head with a wooden spike.

In the footage a topless yob can be seen approaching a wall of police officers, dressed in riot gear and armed with shields, who are surrounded by protesters who can be heard shouting expletives.

The injured officer who is nearly knocked off her feet is then escorted away from the scene

Sunderland is waking up to carnage after riots tore through the city, as the clean up work begins with local residents and police starting to restore order. The burnt-out shell of a car that was torched in the riots last night is pictured

Moments later an officer is hit in the back of a head when a large wooden spike is launched at her from behind which causes her to almost fall to the ground.

She is then escorted away from the scene by one of her colleagues.

The devastating scenes are not over, as Britain is bracing itself for further chaos today.

In preparation, jail cells have been cleared and lawyers put on standby as widespread disruption tears through the country in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

More than 35 'Enough is Enough' demonstrations are planned across the UK this weekend, with several counter-protests by groups such as Unite Against Fascism and Stand Up to Racism also set to take place.

Today, 24 rallies are expected - 22 of which include some far right protesters, one an anti-racist protest and one is said to be a peaceful vigil.

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.

Those waking up in Sunderland will be confronted with the wreckage after it 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.

Members of the public sweep the street this morning after a night of violent anti-immigrant demonstrations, in Sunderland

The Suderland community has come together this morning to rebuild and restore their city

The burnt remains of Sunderland Central Police Station this morning after the building was set on fire by rioters during violent protests last night

A smashed window is seen in Sunderland after the violent night of protests

A man is detained by police near the anti-racism counter protest in Manchester today

Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson speaks to the crowd of helpers as clean up work begins to restore order to the streets of Sunderland this morning

Police and residents are seen in Sunderland today, with damage seen in the background

Police form a line to separate opposing demonstrators in Manchester this morning

Hundreds of protesters on both sides of railings set up to separate them can be seen in Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens at 9.30 this morning.

There is a heavy police presence in place, with officers swiftly intervening and detaining one man after a verbal spat, with chants of 'Nazi scum off our streets' heard from the crowd.

Photos show people holding signs reading 'no to racism, no to fascism' signs in the counter-protest.

Others show people with hoods up and masks covering their faces - except for one man who posed for the camera as he was detained by the police.

At 11am, Manchester Police put a Section 34 dispersal order in place for the city centre for today.

There is also a scattering of some far-right protesters in front of Portsmouth's Guildhall, after the Enough is Enough rally kicked off at 10am.

In a warning to organisers this weekend, Home Office minister Lord Hanson vowed 'we will be watching you' to prevent 'summer madness' from spreading, with police chiefs also warning those exploiting the nation's grief won't be tolerated.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 this morning, Sunderland MP Lewis Atkinson said he was 'really sad' about last night's mayhem and the 'racists [who] decided to turn up do not at all represent our city'.

He added: 'A night of idiots will not prevent us from building.'

Former police chief constable Sue Sim urged those who are considering joining the mayhem this weekend to 'think very carefully' before causing 'further pain and heartache' to the little girls' families.

This morning, hundreds of counter-protesters have gathered in Manchester in preparation for the Enough is Enough rallies taking place today

Rallies are taking place across the country this morning, kicking off in Manchester as a man has already been detained at a clash between protesters

Manchester Police separating protesters in Piccadilly Gardens today

Police form a divide between people taking part in the two Manchester protests today

Southport's MP also 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 on Monday.

The riots this week swept across parts of the UK including London, Hartlepool and Manchester.

They are thought to be triggered by misinformation spread online as to the identity of the teenager suspected of killing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.

Axel Rudakubana, 17, who was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, was eventually named.

Misinformation about a migrant on an MI6 watch list being the culprit was spread online - thought to have originated from a Russian-linked website - before the legal restrictions stopping the real suspect from being named were lifted.

But naming the suspect hasn't stopped the yobs from rioting, with many adverts for the rallies loaded with anti-immigrant rhetoric.

This weekend, mosques across the nation have ramped up their security in fear of being targeted after several were the scenes of violent demonstrations.

Southport locals - including Elsie's mother - have desperately pleaded for the violence to stop to no avail.

Yesterday evening, hundreds of people gathered in Keel Square in Sunderland, many of them draped in England flags.

Members of the crowd chanted in support of Tommy Robinson, while others shouted insults about Islam.

Mounted police followed the march, along with officers in vans who battled their way through traffic to keep up.

However, some protesters descended into violence, setting an overturned car on fire, while others targeted a mosque.

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.

Police in protective gear came under sustained attack as rioters set off fire extinguishers on them on High West Street.

But the community has come together this morning to rebuild and restore their city.

An Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland saw scenes of carnage in the city yesterday

More than 35 rallies are planned in towns and cities across the UK today, after more riots broke out in Sunderland last night

Axel Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife'

Priti Patel called the riots 'totally unacceptable' as she urged for Parliament to be recalled

Mayor of the North East Kim McGuinness told BBC Breakfast: 'Things like this really affect the way that local people feel but the clean-up overnight from Sunderland Council has clearly been absolutely massive.

'And what I'm really heartened by, alongside the thousands of people contacting me saying 'this is not what we're about, we're about that love and that compassion' is the fact that people in Sunderland are going to come together this morning and help with that clean up.

'And I think that really shows the true spirit of what we are as the north east and as Sunderland.'

Asked whether there was any specific knowledge of the events that were planned for Sunderland before, she replied: 'We saw that these far-right groups were advertising what they called a peaceful protest yesterday in Sunderland.

'That was anything but peaceful. It was out and out crime and violence and the police response was strong, protecting a mosque and really having to stand up to very sustained crime and violence from these thugs.'

Tory leader hopeful Priti Patel called the riots 'totally unacceptable' as she urged for Parliament to be recalled.

She said: 'Saying the nation is 'braced for disorder' is not only breathtakingly complacent, but both troubling and inadequate. The Government is now in danger of appearing to be swept away with events rather than maintaining control of them.

'That is precisely why as Home Secretary I brought forward much stronger protections against disproportionate protest and disorder, in the teeth of fierce opposition. But it was the right thing to do and those powers must be used to their maximal extent now.

Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation on Monday, as misinformation online triggered riots after the tragedy

Bebe King, aged six, was also killed in the attack by the teenager in Southport

Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport

Police in riot gear stand on a street as activists held an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland yesterday

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

'Now is a moment for national reflection and solidarity - to pull back from the wave of violence we have seen, to call it out for what it is - without fear or favour - and for Parliament to speak with one voice in condemnation. We either believe in the rule of law, or we do not.

'That is why Parliament must be recalled immediately.'

Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick condemned 'far-right' organising of riots across the country and said 'if there is a case' for proscribing the English Defence League (EDL) it should be 'considered.'

He said the violence across the country must be 'condemned unequivocally across the political spectrum'.

He also criticised Nigel Farage's remarks about the Southport stabbings, saying they did not 'make the situation better'.

Asked for his view on the remarks from the Reform UK leader, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I don't follow all the comments that Nigel Farage says but I don't think any of us should be doing anything to make the job of the police more difficult at this time.'

Asked whether Mr Farage's comments had made the police's job more difficult, he said: 'I don't think they made the situation better did they?

'So I think we should all be choosing our words carefully, backing the police to the hilt and doing everything we can to ensure our streets are safe and this violence, which I'm worried is escalating, comes to an end as swiftly as possible.'

Last night, there was also a standoff between police and protesters outside a mosque on Sunderland's St Mark's Road, as officers in riot gear came under attack with stones and beer cans thrown.

Some protesters argued about 'two-tier policing' as the police threw a protective ring around the mosque.

Mounted police pushed back demonstrators, some of whom were in masks.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said those stoking the scenes of disorder 'do not represent Britain'.

She posted on X: 'Criminals attacking the police & stoking disorder on our streets will pay the price for their violence & thuggery.

Police separated two protests outside a mosque in Liverpool last night amid rioting

Mounted police pushed back demonstrators in Sunderland last night

Bridget Phillipson called it 'unforgivable violence and thuggery'

'The police have the full backing of Government to take the strongest possible action & ensure they face the full force of the law.'

Sunderland AFC said the city 'will forever be for all'.

'Tonight's shameful scenes do not represent our culture, our history, or our people,' a post by the team's X account said.

'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.'

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.

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, demanded that ministers 'do something' about social media which he said was being used to 'whip up lies'.

And Zara Mohammed, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said hundreds of mosques across the country will be strengthening their security and protective measures this weekend out of fear.

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

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

Firefighters tackle damage from the blaze following violence in Sunderland

10 Downing Street, London, lit up in pink yesterday in remembrance of those killed

Liverpool Town Hall lit up in pink last night in tribute to those killed

Violence first 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.

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.

Experts will be examining footage of the demonstrations, with officers in helicopters filming who is attending to record evidence of criminality.

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.

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

Protesters hurl bricks at police on horseback near an Aldi store yesterday in Sunderland

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.'

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.