UK riots: I'm not safe as a Muslim politician, says Sadiq Khan (2024)

Thank you for following our live blog of the UK riots. We’ll be back tomorrow to bring you any further updates as they emerge.

Key moments from today:

• A Labour councillor who called for rioters’ throats to be cut at a protest to counter far-Right demonstrations was arrested.
• The Prime Minister said it was vital that police do not let up on tackling riots across the country.
• Met chief Sir Mark Rowley said the “police and community presence” scared rioters off amid fears of widespread unrest on Wednesday.
• Queen’s University Belfast announced its campus will be closed on Friday ahead of an expected anti-immigration protest and a counter-protest in the city.
• The final child injured during the Southport stabbings on July 29 was discharged from hospital.

A man from Maryport has been jailed for posting racially aggravated, offensive online content on social media, Cumbria Police said.

The force said Billy Thompson, 31, of Mill Street, Maryport, was arrested on Wednesday, charged on Thursday and appeared before North Cumbria Magistrates’ Court on the same day.

He admitted an offence under section 127 of the Communications Act and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison.

The court heard how, on Wednesday, Thompson posted a racially aggravated and threatening comment on a Facebook social media post informing the public of a dispersal order being imposed in Carlisle relating to potential planned disorder, the police said.

Chief Superintendent Carl Patrick said: “I hope today’s swift charge and sentencing sends a clear message to anyone who thinks it is acceptable to post racially aggravated comments online.

“This type of behaviour will not be tolerated and will continue to carry out this proactive policing approach.

“Where there is evidence of people inciting hatred or promoting violence on our streets, our officers will not hesitate to take action.

“We continue to monitor social media and ask that anyone with any information relating to potential planned disorder in the county contacts police via 101.”

A Flintshire man has been charged with malicious communications and will appear in court on Friday, North Wales Police said.

Richard David Williams, 34, of Maes Deri, Elwoe, was remanded in custody and will appear before Llandudno Magistrates’ Court.

The force said: “This investigation followed the posting of material on a social media site and was connected with the ongoing national tensions.

“We will respect the court process and withhold from further comment regarding this case at this time.”

Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: “I would like to remind the public of North Wales that we take any allegation of criminality, whether committed online or in person, extremely seriously.

“Those who post in a suspected criminally irresponsible way will be located, swiftly investigated and, where appropriate, charged.”

Sir Keir Starmer told an emergency Cobra meeting this evening that police must stay on “high alert” for further riots, The Telegraph understands.

The Prime Minister said earlier today that it is vital officers do not “let up” on tackling disorder across the country after swathes of far-Right demonstrations failed to manifest last night.

He reiterated this message at tonight’s Cobra meeting, attended by police chiefs and relevant ministers including Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary.

It is understood he stressed the need to stay on high alert, while giving thanks to all of those involved in the law enforcement effort and the wider criminal justice system.

He also said there is “no doubt” that rapid justice has acted as a deterrent to rioters.

The meeting started at 6.15pm and lasted for around an hour.

The Home Secretary has said the ramped-up police response to potential further riots would continue and suggested it was having an impact on stemming days of disorder.

Yvette Cooper met with police officers and Deputy Commission Dame Lynne Owens at the Metropolitan Police’s specialist operations room in Lambeth on Thursday.

She was asked by the BBC if the deployment of a “standing army” of 6,000 officers would continue over the weekend.

She said: “We’re going to continue with this strong policing response, making sure that there are additional police officers ready to respond.”

After police were braced for disorder on Wednesday that largely failed to materialise, Ms Cooper said that expedited arrests, convictions and sentencing, as well as the thousands of additional officers on the streets, were having an impact.

The fast response from the criminal justice system “does show people that you really will pay the price for these crimes,” said Ms Cooper.

Multiple GoFundMe pages have raised more than £400,000 for rebuilding across the UK in the wake of the riots.

They include a fundraiser to buy new books at Liverpool’s Spellow Lane Library Hub - which suffered severe damage when it was torched on Sunday - that has raised more than £215,644, despite an initial target of just £5,000.

Bash Cafe in Belfast, which sells Arabic coffee and falafel, was also burned in the riots and has received more than its target for repairs, with £27,321 raised.

A Citizens Advice building in Sunderland was also set alight and has received £14,912 in donations.

Donations have also surpassed £384,000 for the families of the three girls killed in the Southport attack on July 29, as well as the other victims.

GoFundMe said in a statement: “Nearly a million has been raised on GoFundMe to help those across the UK affected by the riots and political unrest.

“During the unrest, people across the country have sprung into action to help those who have been affected.”

Earlier today, a fake Telegraph article was shared by Elon Musk on X, formerly Twitter, where it was seen by millions.

The doctored piece, which claimed rioters would be sent to detention camps on the Falkland Islands, was utterly false.

The Telegraph’s Ed Cumming has written here about how the fake image went viral.

Scotland’s former first minister has described Elon Musk as “one of the most dangerous men on the planet”.

Speaking before a crowd at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on Thursday, Humza Yousaf said the owner of X, formerly Twitter, used his wealth “for some of the most wicked evil I’ve seen”.

The comments come as Musk deleted a repost on the website earlier on Thursday where he promoted a false claim about detainment camps being set up in the Falkland Islands for those involved in violent riots in the past week.

Mr Yousaf said: “I have to say, in my opinion, he is one of the most dangerous men on the planet.

“He is accountable to nobody, he has vast wealth at his fingertips and he uses it for some of the most wicked evil I’ve seen.”

A man who hurled metal sheets at police in Hartlepool on July 31 after drinking 30 cans of lager has been jailed for two years and eight months.

Carl Holliday, 30, who admitted violent disorder, was captured on body cam footage throwing large sheets of corrugated metal at the lines of officers.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court: “The defendant was heavily intoxicated and repeatedly threw metal sheeting in the direction of officers while at close proximity to them.

“He was also shouting and swearing at the officers in an aggressive manner.

“When he was arrested he said he was an alcoholic who had drank around 30 cans of lager that day. He said he did not recall being involved in any disorder.”

Holliday has 15 previous convictions and has served 40 months in prison for robbery.

The final child injured during the Southport stabbings on July 29 was discharged from hospital on Thursday and will continue her recovery at home, Merseyside Police said.

Her family said: “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for their unwavering support and the extraordinary care they provided to our beloved daughter during this challenging time.”

They added: “We were deeply saddened by the recent disorder and the attacks on our police force. It is important to highlight that when the horrific events unfolded, our police officers were the first on the scene.

“We are immensely grateful to the officers who stood by our daughter’s side, providing assistance and support until she was safely transported to the hospital.”

A Labour councillor who called for rioters’ throats to be cut at a protest to counter far-Right demonstrations has been arrested.

Ricky Jones, a councillor for Princes, in Dartford, was filmed saying: “They are disgusting ... Nazi fascists, and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.”

The Labour Party said his behaviour was “completely unacceptable” and he had been suspended. He was arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder.

Read the full story here

Queen’s University Belfast has announced that its campus will be closed on Friday, with an anti-immigration protest and a counter-protest expected in the Northern Ireland capital.

The university said its public facilities will also close as a precautionary measure to ensure staff and students travelling to and from campus are not put at any risk.

Prof Sir Ian Greer, the vice chancellor, also made a direct appeal to young people to not risk jeopardising their future.

He said: “Please do not jeopardise your future and the future of your city through misguided actions, which will damage your chances in life and damage this great city.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said it is vital police do not let up on tackling riots across the country.

Speaking to broadcasters after a visit to a mosque in the West Midlands, the Prime Minister announced that he will hold another Cobra meeting later today to “reflect on last night” and “plan for the coming days” in a bid to keep the disorder under control.

Thousands of officers were deployed across the capital on Wednesday in anticipation of further unrest, with more than 100 far-Right demonstrations expected across the country.

But the large-scale disorder people had feared failed to manifest, with the Metropolitan Police commissioner claiming that the major police presence and swathes of counter-demonstrators deterred the rioters.

Sir Keir acknowledged that “last night was much better than was expected”, but insisted “we are not going to give up on our efforts here”.

He said: “Now it’s important that we don’t let up here and that’s why later on today I will have another Cobra meeting with law enforcement, with senior police officers, to make sure that we reflect on last night but also plan for the coming days.”

Efforts will be made by police to engage with young people about the consequences of joining in any disorder, a police chief has said.

Gavin Stephens, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “We’ve seen on the footage that we get back from the scene, young people, children, are on the fringes of it, and in that mob mentality can get drawn in.

He added: “So, I think to have conversations with young people, children, teenagers over the course the next few days is really, really important.

“Don’t get involved, don’t go near this stuff - it could change the prospects for the rest of your life.”

Middlesbrough Football Club has joined the town’s political leaders in strongly condemning the violent scenes in the area last weekend.

Steve Gibson, the club’s chairman, has described rioters as “scurrilous individuals” who “do not represent the true values of the people of Middlesbrough”.

Disorder in the town spread during a protest on Sunday, with more than 40 people arrested by local police after windows were smashed and cars were set on fire.

Read the full story here

Additional police resources will be “drawn down the tiers” of the English Football League for the start of the new season on Saturday, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council has said.

Gavin Stephens said the English Football League was working with police as assessments were being refreshed by police on a “fixture-by fixture level”.

He said: “In reality, what will probably happen to do with some of those football fixtures is the resources will be drawn down the tiers, in order that bolster extra support.”

Mr Stephens added he felt the “community spirit” at football matches could act as a “big counterbalance” to any possible disorder.

The chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council has admitted to being “nervous” about the counter-protests that took place on Wednesday.

Speaking in a media briefing, Gavin Stephens said: “From a policing point of view, I must admit we were nervous about all of the counter-activity, if you want to call it that, purely because it adds to the scale of what we’re dealing with.

“I think what we saw last night was a loud and clear message from communities that they’d had enough, that there’s no place for hate, that there’s no place for violence.”

Mr Stephens admitted a cost of damage to the communities affected by the disorder over the last nine days was “going to take a long, long time to recover”.

Some 20 potential gatherings and three counter-protests are planned for Thursday, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

More than 160 demonstrations were planned for Wednesday but only about 36 took place with “minimal disorder and only a handful of arrests”, the body said.

Sir Mark Rowley said on Thursday morning that the “police and community presence” scared rioters off amid fears of widespread unrest on Wednesday.

Thousands of officers were deployed across the capital in anticipation of planned riots with more than 100 far-Right demonstrations potentially taking place across the country.

Swathes of residents also turned out to protect their communities after immigration centres and other properties were listed online as targets for violent protests.

The Metropolitan Police commissioner claimed that the presence of police and counter-demonstrators snuffed out the riots.

Speaking on Sky News, he said: “I’m really pleased with how it went. We put thousands of officers on the streets and I think the show of force from the police and frankly, the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen.

“It went off very peacefully last night. [There were] a couple of locations where some local criminals turned out and tried to create a bit of anti-social behaviour and we arrested a few of them, but it was a very successful night and the fears of some sort of extreme-right disorder were abated.”

He added: “So it was a successful operation thanks to communities and police.”

A man who spat at police and threatened to punch an officer during protests in Plymouth has been jailed for 26 months.

Daniel McGuire, 45, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of violent disorder relating to the incident on Monday.

Judge Robert Linford, sentencing McGuire at Plymouth Crown Court on Thursday, said the defendant had been drunk and returned after police asked him to leave.

He said McGuire was “seen to repeatedly spit at the police” and video footage showed him “swearing and threatening to punch the police”.

Feleena Grosvenor, for McGuire, said that the defendant was “sorry for spitting and he was so ashamed during his interview he could barely watch the video”.

A Labour councillor has been filmed saying rioters are “disgusting” and that they should have their throats cut.

In a video posted to X, fomerly Twitter, by Nigel Farage,Cllr Ricky Jonescan be heard saying “we need to cut all their throats” in reference to the rioters.

Mr Jones has since been administratively suspended from the Labour Party. This means that the Labour whip has also been automatically removed from him and he will not sit as Labour councillor.

A Labour spokesman said:“This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. The councillor has been suspended from the party.”

A “thug” who was seen kicking another man during protests in Plymouth has been jailed for 32 months.

Michael Williams, 51, of Sparkwell, Devon, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of violent disorder relating to Monday’s incident.

Judge Robert Linford, sentencing Williams and a second defendant at Plymouth Crown Court on Thursday, said that “thugs like you... ran amok”.

He said Williams was “seen to be fighting and kicking another male” and when he was arrested he was found with a stone in his jogging bottoms.

The judge dismissed Williams’s claim that it was a “healing stone” as “ludicrous”.

A couple who became involved in riots in Hartlepool after going to an afternoon bingo session have each been jailed for two years and two months.

Former postmaster and school governor Steven Mailen, 54, of Arch Court, Hartlepool, was described as “one of the main instigators” of a large-scale disturbance on Murray Street.

His partner Ryan Sheers, 29, of Powlett Road, Hartlepool, was bitten on the hip by a police dog during the incident.

The pair, neither of whom had any previous convictions, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after 200 people gathered in the North East town on July 31.

A judge said Mailen and Sheers were “at the very forefront of the mob”, and tried to push their way through a police cordon, with Mailen taunting officers and encouraging others to use violence towards them.

A pensioner has been jailed for his part in disorder in which police were attacked and a library was set on fire.

William Morgan, 69, of Linton Street, Walton, has been jailed for two years and eight months at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon - a cosh - on County Road in Liverpool on Saturday night.

Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said: “Your advancing years plainly did not prevent you from playing an active part in a disturbance on County Road.”

He added: “I think it is very sad indeed to see someone of your age and character in the dock of a crown court.”

The leader of Brighton and Hove City Council has said the city was “at its very best” after about 2,000 people gathered for an anti-racist demonstration on Wednesday.

Bella Sankey said: “I am so proud of my city. Last night we saw Brighton and Hove at its very best.

“Rather than the rumoured far-Right disorder we saw a defiant and peaceful show of solidarity, unity and love. Brighton and Hove is a welcoming city of sanctuary and it fills my heart with pride.

“It is important we recognise the impact recent far-Right unrest has caused to the lives of many people... and that the community responses we saw from people up and down our country last night will not provide an immediate stop to that.”

Sir Mark Rowley this morning said “police and community presence” scared rioters off amid fears of widespread unrest Wednesday.

Thousands of officers were deployed across the capital in anticipation of planned riots with more than 100 far-Right demonstrations potentially taking place across the country.

Swathes of residents also turned out to protect their communities after immigration centres and other properties were listed online as targets for violent protests.

Sir Mark claimed the presence of police and counter-demonstrators snuffed out the riots.

Speaking on Sky News, he said: “I’m really pleased with how it went. We put thousands of officers on the streets and I think the show of force from the police and frankly, the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen.

“It went off very peacefully last night. [There were] a couple of locations where some local criminals turned out and tried to create a bit of anti-social behaviour and we arrested a few of them, but it was a very successful night and the fears of some sort of extreme-right disorder were abated.”

He added: “So it was a successful operation thanks to communities and police.”

Judge Andrew Menary KC says O’Malley was “at the front of what was essentially a baying mob”.

He added: “You were part of a crowd using obviously racist and religiously intolerant language that was demonstrating quite deliberately outside a mosque, and you were an active and persistent participant.”

Riots “will never triumph” in the UK, Sir Ed Davey has said.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Liberal Democrat leader wrote: “It is heart-warming to see so many people of all backgrounds and all walks of life standing peacefully together in solidarity against racism, Islamophobia and violence.

“We are indebted to our brave police officers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe.

“Last night was proof that the UK is the open, tolerant and compassionate country we all know and love.

“Riots and racism will never triumph here.”

At the end of June, the Canadian psychology professor and culture warriorJordan B Peterson uploaded the 462th episode of his phenomenally successful podcast (8.13 million subscribers at the last count).

It was calledWhy the Establishment Hates This Man: Tommy Robinson.

Robinson, for those who are not familiar with the far-Right activist currently at the heart of the riots taking place across Britain, was introduced by Peterson in his written blurb as “a British journalist and activist who first became an establishment target after reporting on the grooming gangs in London [sic].

From then on, he and his family have suffered sacrifice and punishment for attempting to out those who are enabling the grotesque brutality of Islamic extremism.”

Read the full story here.

A man has been charged following an investigation into the alleged posting online of content encouraging violence against police officers and promoting public disorder, Cumbria Police said.

Stuart Burns, 41, of Briar Bank, Carlisle, has been charged with two counts of an offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act.

He has been remanded in custody and will appear at North Cumbria magistrates’ court later on Thursday.

Two more people have been arrested following violent disorder in Southport last Tuesday, Merseyside Police said.

A 46-year-old man from Bootle and a 20-year-old from Southport have both been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder.

They remain in custody and will be questioned by detectives.

It brings the total number arrested for disorder in Southport and Liverpool to 44.

Five more men have been charged following disorder across Manchester at the weekend, Greater Manchester Police said.

Marcus Foster, 24, of Oswald Road, Chorlton; Paul Smith, 21, of Keynsham Road, Manchester; Steven Miller, 38, of Farnworth, Bolton; and Joseph Ley, 30, of Hardman Street, Stockport, have been charged with violent disorder.

Oliver Chapman, 23, of Connaught Avenue, Whitefield, has been charged with criminal damage.

They have all been remanded into custody to appear at Manchester and Salford magistrates’ court later on Thursday.

The Metropolitan Police said officers have made 10 more arrests over the violent disorder outside Downing Street on Wednesday July 31.This takes the total number arrested to 121, the force said.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, who joined officers making arrests in Sutton, south London, on Thursday, said he expected charges to be brought within 24 hours.

Sir Mark said: “Over the last week dozens of officers have continued to investigate the violent disorder which broke out in Whitehall last Wednesday. They scoured thousands of hours of footage from body worn video, CCTV, and social media to identify those responsible for fuelling and committing the thuggish and violent behaviour we saw.

“Their efforts have resulted in a series of crucial arrests last night and in the early hours of this morning.”

Dame Diana Johnson has said social media giants have an “obligation” to deal with criminal offences being committed on their platforms.

The Home Office minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If there are criminal offences being committed on social media platforms now, then these social media companies have an obligation now to deal with that.

“If they’re having incitement to violence on their platforms, that needs to be dealt with now, today. We don’t need the Online Safety Act to deal with that.”

Pressed on whether Wednesday’s open letter by Ofcom calling on social media platforms to do more to counter hatred online was enough, Dame Diana said: “We fully understand and appreciate the problem we have with social media, and that is going to have a cross government approach.

“It’s certainly being raised in all the meetings that I’ve been party to, so I can assure you that it is being looked at.

“But in the meantime, these social media companies could heed the warning of Ofcom and take some action today. That’s what we’re saying they should do.”

Sadiq Khan has paid tribute to police officers and thanked those who demonstrated “peacefully” on Wednesday night to “show London stands united against racism”.

In a statement, the Mayor of London said: “I would like to pay tribute to the outstanding work of our police officers across London last night. And to those who came out peacefully to show London stands united against racism and Islamophobia last night - thank you.

“We have seen appalling violence and disorder in towns and cities across the country in recent days, but there was no repeat in our capital overnight. The Met has worked tirelessly to make it clear that such violence will not be tolerated and that anyone seeking to engage in disorder and sow division would face the full force of the law.

“I remain in close contact with the Met commissioner and local people will continue to see an increased police presence across areas of London in the coming days as they seek to reassure and protect our communities.

“I’m clear that there is no place for violence, racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism in our city and we will never let those who seek to divide our communities win.

“London is proud of our diversity and of being an open and welcoming city, and always will be.”

Tough sentences handed out to rioters are already working in calming unrest on Britain’s streets, the policing minister has said.

Far-Right activists were vastly outnumbered last night by thousands of counter-protesters who crowded them out in towns and cities across England.

Three men were jailed yesterday for up to three years after admitting violent disorder following riots in Liverpool city centre. Many more people arrested during the unrest are set to appear in court today.

Asked what people should conclude from Wednesday’s events, Dame Diana Johnson told Times Radio: “I’m very cautious, but last night we didn’t see the levels of criminality that we perhaps could have done after the events of recent days.

“And I think that’s because of the presence of the police on our streets and also the response from the criminal justice system, that if you get involved in criminal activity in the way that’s happened in the last few days, you will be held to account.

“There are consequences for your actions, and seeing people in court, people being arrested, first of all, then charged and then in court, and seeing the sentences handed out yesterday.”

Speaking about potential match bans for those involved in rioting, Dame Diana Johnson said football clubs do not want those implicated in disorder “in their stands on a Saturday”.

The Home Office minister told LBC Radio: “I think all options are being looked at, to be honest, and I am pretty clear that most football clubs do not want to be seen to have football hooligans and people carrying out criminal acts on the streets of the local communities in their stands on a Saturday.

“So I think that’s a very live debate that’s going on at the moment, and I think there are consequences for people’s bad behaviour on our streets and their criminal activity, and if that’s what football clubs or rugby clubs choose to do, that’s a matter for them, but all tactics and all options should be looked at.”

Maria Carr, the landlady of The Spread Eagle pub in Northampton, said she and her regulars boarded up her establishments to stop looting and damage ahead of possible riots last night.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, she said:“We removed anything that could be picked up from thrown and removed glassware and bottles.

“We boarded the windows. And yeah, we just made the pub a safe space.

“If anyone got it, you know, they wouldn’t be able to take things and burn it or anything like that. So yeah, there was a lot of thought put into it.”

She added: “Our regular customers came and boarded up the pub for us.

“You know, they love our pub. And they didn’t want to happen. So they came down during the day and helped us board up.

“I was quite overwhelmed by the community showing support, it was nice to see.”

Counter-demonstrations were “on the whole peaceful” and showed that the majority of people in the UK are “tolerant” and “respect the police”, the Home Office minister has said.

Asked if she praised Wednesday evening’s counter-demonstrations to far-Right protest plans,Dame Diana Johnsontold the BBC: “I think this country has a tradition, doesn’t it, of peaceful protests and I think last night was an example of that.

“Now clearly, because of what has happened in previous days, we were very anxious that we didn’t add to the burden on the police by having to police counter-demonstrations and protests, but luckily last night, everything on the whole was peaceful, so that’s important.

“But I think what last night illustrated was the vast majority of people in this country are law-abiding, are tolerant, respect the police, want their communities to be ones that are safe for all communities and I think that that was demonstrated last night by some of what we saw on the streets with those people who came forward to make their views clear.

“Because unfortunately in the last few nights, what we’d seen was the very small criminal element, the extremists were out on the streets, engaging in disorder and violence and that’s not what Britain is. That is not what the British people are about.”

Dame Diana Johnson, the Home Office minister,urged MPs to be “moderate in their language” when discussing rioting and disorder.

Asked about comments made by Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick where he suggested people who say “Allahu Akbar” should be “immediately arrested”, Dame Diana told Sky News: “I think all politicians at this stage need to be very careful about the language that they use.

“The country over the last few days, the terrible events in Southport, I think the country has been very shocked by that tragic event and then the public disorder that we’ve seen.

“So I think all politicians have a role in being moderate in their language, supporting the police and speaking on behalf of the law-abiding majority in this country. That’s what I would say all politicians should be doing at this stage.”

She added: “The vast majority of MPs that I’ve been speaking to have been supportive of the action taken to clamp down on that criminality on our streets.

“Obviously we’re in the middle of a Conservative leadership election, and clearly there’s positioning and posturing going on there, but I think my overall view is that members of parliament are supporting the action of the police and of the Government.”

Fears of further violent disorder on Wednesday night were “abated” thanks to a “show of force” from police, Sir Mark Rowley has said.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Metropolitan Police commissioner said: “I’m really pleased with how it went. We put thousands of officers on the streets and I think the show of force from the police and frankly, the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen.

“It went off very peacefully last night. [There were] a couple of locations where some local criminals turned out and tried to create a bit of anti-social behaviour and we arrested a few of them, but it was a very successful night and the fears of some sort of extreme-right disorder were abated.”

He added: “We’ve been out doing some dawn raids this morning, the people who were most violent in the Whitehall protests and violence last week... about 70 per cent of them have got criminal backgrounds.

“We’ve got criminal damage, violence, weapons offences, football banning orders. These are criminal thugs. Any suggestion that they’re patriots, or they’ve got a cause that they’re protesting about is nonsense, and frankly, most of them are going to be charged with violent disorder and most of them are going to prison for a few years.”

A secretive government agency used to “spy on” anti-lockdown campaigners during the Covid pandemic has been deployed to monitor social media amid the riots, The Telegraph has learnt.

The Counter Disinformation Unit (CDU), now rebranded as the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT), has been given the task just months after MPs called for an independent review of its activities.

Read the full story here.

A rioter who said he was a “fool” for getting involved in disorder at a mosque and punching a police officer has been jailed for three years.

Derek Drummond, 58, of Pool Street, Southport, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to violent disordercharges and assaulting an emergency worker.

Drummond was among a group of around 300 people who marched towards a mosque in the Merseyside town on July 30, chanting “this is our f---ing country”, a court had previously heard.

Read the full story here.

Dame Diana Johnson, the Home Office minister, has said the de-escalation in violence seen on Wednesday night is “just the start” as she claimed “swift justice” has acted as a deterrence for potential rioters.

Asked if she believed the levels of disorder had turned a corner overnight, Dame Diana told Sky News: “I am cautious about what happened last night.

“It’s good that we didn’t see the level of disorder and criminality on our streets that we have in previous days, but obviously this is just the start. There is now further intelligence of events during the next few days, and we need to see what happens there.”

She added: “I think what’s happened is that the presence of the police on our streets, combined with the consequences that people are now seeing for the actions that they’ve taken in terms of the criminal acts on the streets.

“So we’ve seen people arrested, over 400 people arrested. We’ve seen over 120 people charged. We’re now seeing people actually in court being convicted and actually sentenced.

Andy Valentine, the Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner, said: “This evening, more than 1,000 officers were deployed in London ready to respond to events planned across the city.

“They were ready to protect our communities from hateful, divisive and violent behaviour.

“Two large anti-racism protests took place in Waltham Forest and Finchley. The majority of people engaged with officers and complied with conditions. These events passed without major incident or disruption.

“However, officers did face anti-social behaviour from a small group in Croydon who were not related to any protest, but were intent on causing trouble.”

He continued: “Our top priority has been to keep our communities safe, prevent significant disorder and swiftly deal with any offenders. A number of arrests were made across the city this evening.

“I want to thank our communities for coming together across the capital and for showing community spirit this evening.

“I would also like to thank the committed officers who have been working hard to police London today, serving their communities and keeping people safe.”

The Metropolitan Police made 15 arrests across London on Wednesday evening after protests were planned across the city.

In Croydon, 10 people were arrested for offences including assault on an emergency worker, breaching a section 35 dispersal order, going equipped for arson and violent disorder.

The force said the arrests were not related to any protests, but that a “small group” were “intent on causing trouble”.

In Waltham Forest, two people were arrested for possession of an offensive weapon, including a lock knife and a golf club, after planned protests in the area.

One person was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and one person was arrested for obstructing a Section 60 search.

Another person in Hounslow was also arrested for possession of an offensive weapon.