Northern Ireland

Sir Keir Starmer vows to ‘ramp up criminal justice’ after Cobra meeting to discuss violent disorder

Escalating violence has erupted in many towns and cities since the Southport stabbings last week

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was focused on ensuring police are able to carry out their duties
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he will 'ramp up criminal justice. PICTURE: PA (PA Video/PA)
By Staff Reporter

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to “ramp up criminal justice” after an emergency Cobra meeting was called in the wake of a sixth day of disorder in many parts of the UK.

Police clashed with crowds one week on from the Southport stabbings as the escalating violence continued over the weekend.

Undated handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of (left to right) six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine
Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, the three children killed in a knife attack during a Taylor Swift event at a dance school. PICTURE: MERSEYSIDE POLICE

Hundreds of people have been arrested since the violence broke out in towns and cities from last Tuesday onwards.

Several suspects faced charges in court on Monday, as ministers and police chiefs descended on Westminster for the meeting setting out the response for the coming days in a bid to clamp down on further unrest.

A ‘standing army’ of specialist police officers is being assembled to crack down on rioting, the Prime Minister said as he called for perpetrators to be named and shamed
A ‘standing army’ of specialist police officers is being assembled to crack down on rioting, the Prime Minister said as he called for perpetrators to be named and shamed. PICTURE: OWEN HUMPREYS

Calls for the army to be brought in have so far been dismissed, with the UK government insisting the police already have the resources needed to respond.

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Speaking after the Cobra meeting on Monday and listing the action due to be taken, the prime minister said: “The first is we will have a standing army of specialist public duty officers so that we will have enough officers to deal with this where we need them.

Calls have been made for a national conversation about respect amid scenes of violence in parts of the UK
Scenes of violence in parts of the UK. PICTURE: DANNY LAWSON

“The second is we will ramp up criminal justice. There have already been hundreds of arrests, some have appeared in court this morning.

“I have asked for early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved in the process who will feel the full force of the law.”

Sir Keir also rejected calls for Parliament to be recalled in the face of the rioting.

He said he was focused on ensuring police are able to carry out their duties, as MPs from across the political spectrum demanded Parliament return from its summer recess.

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel, Labour MPs including Diane Abbott and Dawn Butler, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage have all called for the Commons to cut short the recess after another night of violence on Sunday.

Addressing the calls for a Commons return, Sir Keir said: “My focus is on ensuring we have got the right people carrying out their duties to ensure that our streets are safe.

“For the public, that is the first duty of government and that is where my absolute focus is.”