Unrest related to misinformation about a mass stabbing in Southport has affected multiple towns and cities, with anti-immigration demonstrators clashing with police.
By EasternEyeAug 05, 2024
KEIR Starmer has warned far-right protesters that they will "regret" their involvement in England's worst rioting in 13 years. The disturbances, linked to the murder of three children earlier this week, have spread across the country.
Masked anti-immigration demonstrators smashed several windows at a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Unrest related to misinformation about a mass stabbing last Monday in Southport has affected multiple towns and cities, with anti-immigration demonstrators clashing with police.
Downing Street confirmed an emergency response meeting will be held on Monday, following the arrest of more than 150 people during violent disorder in UK towns and cities over the weekend, according to the BBC.
Cobra meetings, named after Cabinet Office Briefing Room A on Whitehall, are emergency response committees involving ministers, civil servants, police, intelligence officers, and others relevant to the issue.
The violence poses a significant challenge for Starmer, who was elected only a month ago after Labour's landslide victory over the Conservatives. "I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder. Whether directly or those inciting this action online and then fleeing," Starmer said in a TV address.
He added there was "no justification" for what he described as "far-right thuggery," promising to bring the perpetrators "to justice."
Shops looted and burnt
Footage aired on the BBC showed rioters forcing their way into a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham and pushing a burning bin into the building. It is unclear whether asylum seekers were inside.
Ten officers were injured, but local police said none of the hotel staff or guests were harmed.
In Middlesbrough, hundreds of protesters faced riot police carrying shields. Some threw bricks, cans, and pots at officers.
Protesters seized a camera from an AFP crew and broke it, but the journalists were not injured.
The new disturbances follow the arrest of over 150 people since Saturday, due to skirmishes at far-right rallies in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool, Hull, and Belfast, as well as in Northern Ireland.
Rioters threw bricks, bottles, and flares at police, injuring several officers. They looted and burnt shops, while shouting anti-Islamic slurs as they clashed with counter-protesters.
The violence is the worst England has seen since the summer of 2011, when widespread rioting followed the police killing of a mixed-race man in north London.
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish leaders in Liverpool issued a joint appeal for calm.
"We're now seeing this trouble flooding across major cities and towns," said Tiffany Lynch of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Late on Sunday, Staffordshire police reported that another hotel, known to shelter asylum seekers, was targeted near Birmingham.
"A large group of individuals" has been "throwing projectiles, smashing windows, starting fires, and targeting police" at the hotel in Tamworth, with one officer injured, according to a statement.
Riots first flared in Southport late Tuesday following Monday's knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in the northwest coastal city, before spreading across England.
'Wake-up call'
The unrest was fuelled by false rumours on social media about the background of 17-year-old suspect Axel Rudakubana, who is accused of killing three children and injuring another 10 people.
Police have blamed the violence on supporters and affiliated organisations of the English Defence League, an anti-Islam group with links to football hooliganism.
Agitators have targeted at least two mosques, and the UK interior ministry announced new emergency security measures for Islamic places of worship.
The rallies have been advertised on far-right social media channels under the banner "Enough is enough."
Participants have waved English and British flags while chanting slogans such as "Stop the boats," referring to irregular migrants crossing the Channel from France.
Anti-fascist demonstrators have held counter-rallies in many cities, including Leeds, where they chanted, "Nazi scum off our streets," while the far-right protesters chanted, "You're not English anymore."
Not all gatherings have turned violent. A peaceful protest in Aldershot on Sunday saw participants holding placards reading "Stop the invasion" and "We're not far right, we're just right."
"People are fed up with being told you should be ashamed if you're white and working class, but I'm proud of being white and working class," said 41-year-old Karina, who did not give her surname, in Nottingham on Saturday.
In last month's election, the Reform UK party, led by Brexit supporter Nigel Farage, captured 14 percent of the vote, marking one of the largest shares for a far-right British party.
Carla Denyer, co-leader of the left-wing Green party, said the unrest should be "a wake-up call to all politicians who have actively promoted or given in" to anti-immigration rhetoric.
A yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued by the Met Office for large parts of southern England, the Midlands, and south Wales, with the alert in effect from 09:00 to 18:00 BST on Saturday, 8 June.
According to the UK’s national weather agency, intense downpours could bring 10–15mm of rainfall in under an hour, while some areas may see as much as 30–40mm over a few hours due to successive storms. Frequent lightning, hail, and gusty winds are also expected to accompany the thunderstorms.
The Met Office has cautioned that these conditions could lead to travel disruption. Roads may be affected by surface water and spray, increasing the risk of delays for motorists. Public transport, including train services, could also face interruptions. Additionally, short-term power outages and damage to buildings from lightning strikes are possible in some locations.
This weather warning for thunderstorms comes after what was the driest spring in over a century. England recorded just 32.8mm of rain in May, making it the driest on record for more than 100 years. Now, forecasters suggest that some areas could receive more rainfall in a single day than they did during the entire month of May.
The thunderstorms are expected to subside from the west during the mid-afternoonMet Office
June has so far brought cooler, wetter, and windier conditions than usual, following a record-breaking dry period. The Met Office noted that thunderstorms are particularly difficult to predict because they are small-scale weather systems. As a result, while many areas within the warning zone are likely to experience showers, some locations may avoid the storms entirely and remain dry.
The thunderstorms are expected to subside from the west during the mid-afternoon, reducing the risk in those areas as the day progresses.
Other parts of the UK are also likely to see showers on Saturday, but these are not expected to be as severe as those in the south.
Yellow warnings are the lowest level issued by the Met Office but still indicate a risk of disruption. They are based on both the likelihood of severe weather and the potential impact it may have on people and infrastructure. Residents in affected areas are advised to stay updated and take precautions where necessary.
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India's prime minister Narendra Modi. (Photo by MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty Images)
CANADIAN prime minister Mark Carney invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the upcoming Group of Seven summit in a phone call on Friday (6), as the two sides look to mend ties after relations soured in the past two years.
The leaders agreed to remain in contact and looked forward to meeting at the G7 summit later this month, a readout from Carney's office said.
India is not a G7 member but can be invited as a guest to its annual gathering, which will be held this year in Kananaskis in the Canadian province of Alberta, from June 15 to 17.
"Glad to receive a call from Prime Minister (Carney) ... thanked him for the invitation to the G7 Summit," Modi said in a post on X.
Modi also stated in his post on Friday that India and Canada would work together "with renewed vigour, guided by mutual respect and shared interests."
Bilateral ties deteriorated after Canada accused India of involvement in a Sikh separatist leader's murder, and of attempting to interfere in two recent elections. Canada expelled several top Indian diplomats and consular officials in October 2024 after linking them to the murder and alleged a broader effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada.
New Delhi has denied the allegations, and expelled the same number of Canadian diplomats in response.
India is Canada's 10th largest trading partner and Canada is the biggest exporter of pulses, including lentils, to India.
Carney, who is trying to diversify trade away from the United States, said it made sense for the G7 to invite India, since it had the fifth-largest economy in the world and was at the heart of a number of supply chains.
"In addition, bilaterally, we have now agreed, importantly, to continued law enforcement dialogue, so there's been some progress on that, that recognizes issues of accountability. I extended the invitation to prime minister Modi in that context," he told reporters in Ottawa.
Four Indian nationals have been charged in the killing of the Sikh separatist leader.
(Reuters)
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Foreign secretary David Lammy. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
FOREIGN SECRETARY David Lammy arrived in Delhi on Saturday (7) for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening economic and security ties with India, following the landmark free trade agreement finalised last month.
During his visit, Lammy will hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and is scheduled to meet prime minister Narendra Modi, as well as commerce minister Piyush Goyal.
According to a statement, the discussions will focus on bilateral ties in areas of trade, defence and security, building on the ambitious free trade agreement (FTA) finalised on May 6.
The FTA represents the biggest deal the UK has finalised since leaving the European Union. Under the agreement, 99 per cent of Indian exports will be exempt from tariffs, while making it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India.
"India was one of my first visits as Foreign Secretary, and since then has been a key partner in the delivery of our Plan for Change," Lammy said. "Signing a free trade agreement is just the start of our ambitions - we're building a modern partnership with India for a new global era. We want to go even further to foster an even closer relationship and cooperate when it comes to delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities."
The minister will also welcome progress on migration partnerships, including ongoing efforts to safeguard citizens and secure borders in both countries. Migration remains a top priority for the government, with Lammy focused on working with international partners to strengthen the UK's border security.
Business investment will also feature prominently in the discussions, with Lammy set to meet leading Indian business figures to explore opportunities for greater Indian investment in Britain.
The current investment relationship already supports over 600,000 jobs across both countries, with more than 950 Indian-owned companies operating in the UK and over 650 British companies in India. For five consecutive years, India has been the UK's second-largest source of investment projects.
The talks will also address regional security concerns, with India expected to raise the issue of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan with the foreign secretary. The UK played a role in helping to de-escalate tensions during last month's military conflict between India and Pakistan, following the deadly Pahalgam terrorist attack in Kashmir.
Lammy had previously visited Islamabad from May 16, during which he welcomed the understanding between India and Pakistan to halt military actions.
His visit is also expected to lay the groundwork for a possible trip to New Delhi by prime minister Keir Starmer. This is Lammy's second visit to India as foreign secretary, following his inaugural trip in July when he announced the UK-India Technology Security Initiative focusing on collaboration in telecoms security and emerging technologies.
(with inputs from PTI)
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Seema Misra was wrongly imprisoned in 2010 after being accused of stealing £75,000 from her Post Office branch in Surrey, where she was the subpostmistress. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
SEEMA MISRA, a former sub-postmistress from Surrey who was wrongly jailed in the Post Office scandal, told MPs that her teenage son fears she could be sent to prison again.
Misra served five months in jail in 2010 after being wrongly convicted of theft. She said she was pregnant at the time, and the only reason she did not take her own life was because of her unborn child, The Times reported.
Speaking at a meeting in parliament on Tuesday, she said, “It affects our whole family. My 13-year-old younger son said, ‘Mummy, if the Post Office put you back in prison don’t kill yourself — you didn’t kill yourself [when you were in prison] because I was in your tummy. What if they do it again?’”
Misra, who wore an electronic tag when giving birth, supported a campaign to change the law around compensation for miscarriages of justice.
In 2014, the law was changed under Lord Cameron, requiring victims to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt to receive compensation. Campaigners say this has resulted in only 6.6 per cent of claims being successful, down from 46 per cent, and average payouts dropping from £270,000 to less than £70,000.
Sir David Davis called the rule change an “institutional miscarriage of justice” during prime minister’s questions and urged the government to act.
Dame Vera Baird, interim head of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, has also announced a full review of the body’s operations, following years of criticism over its performance.
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Habibur Masum pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)
A MAN has admitted killing his wife as she pushed their baby in a pram through Bradford city centre, but has denied her murder.
Habibur Masum, 26, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to manslaughter and possession of a bladed article. He denied the charge of murder. The victim, 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter, was stabbed multiple times on 6 April last year. The baby was unharmed.
Masum, of Leamington Avenue, Burnley, was remanded in custody by Justice Cotter and is due to stand trial for murder on Monday.
He also denied two charges of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of stalking. During a previous hearing, the court was told those charges relate to incidents over two days in November 2023.
The stalking charge alleges Masum tracked Akter between November and April, found her location at a safe house, sent threatening messages including photos and videos, loitered near her temporary residence, and caused her alarm or distress and fear of violence.
Akter was attacked at around 15:20 BST on Westgate near Drewton Road. She later died in hospital. Masum was arrested in Aylesbury after a three-day manhunt by West Yorkshire Police.
Her mother, Monwara Begum, speaking from Bangladesh last year, said: "I am in shock. She was my youngest daughter and I adored her greatly... The only day I didn't hear from her was the day she was attacked."