The Prime Minister said police must remain on “high alert” as the country prepares for the weekend after days of violent rioting and unrest in England and Northern Ireland.
The police are on high alert
Despite the fact that large-scale anti-racism protests on Wednesday night appeared to stem the tide of violent disgruntled citizens in England, Keir Starmer said:
“My message to the police and all of those that are charged with responding to disorder is maintain that high alert.”
The Prime Minister said he believed the swift processing of rioters in the courts had had a deterrent effect and told broadcasters:
“I’m absolutely convinced that having the police officers in place these last few days, and the swift justice that has been dispensed in our courts have had a real impact. But we have to stay on high alert going into this weekend because we absolutely have to make sure that our communities are safe and secure and feel safe and secure.”
Starmer met with London Police Chief Mark Rowley and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine at the police command and control base in Lambeth, where he gave a briefing on the police response to public disorder.
Asked if the start of the football season would make policing over the weekend more difficult, the Prime Minister said:
“I think there were a lot of things in the mix this weekend but of course, whatever the challenge, we have to rise to it. That’s why I’ve had Cobra meetings, that’s why I’ve been talking to the police today about their plans for the weekend. Yes, football is added into the mix, there are other things in the mix, but our focus has to be absolutely solely on the safety and security of our communities, and that’s exactly where it is.”
A new TV agreement with Sky Sports has seen the 3 p.m. kick-off moved to 12.30 p.m. for the first time in the opening days of the Championship, with all Saturday League One matches kicking off at 5.30 p.m., increasing the amount of time during the day when police can expect fans to be on the move.
What sparked the riots
Violence erupted after a stabbing in Southport at a children’s dance class, which left three little girls dead, was reported online and then widely publicised.
Due to the lack of information about the incident, various rumours began to spread on the web, in particular, it was said that the killer was a Muslim migrant who arrived in the UK illegally by boat. Later this version was denied by the British police.
Over several days of riots across the country, mosques, hotels housing immigrants were attacked. More than 400 rioters were arrested and sentenced to prison.
Starmer’s credibility plummeting
Against the backdrop of the ongoing unrest, the popularity of Labour’s newly minted British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has plummeted. Although the approval rating remained positive, it fell by 16 points, namely from +19 to +3. At the same time, 53% of Britons have an unfavourable attitude towards the new prime minister (up four points), while 37% expressed a positive attitude (down three points), giving a net favourability rating of -16, according to recent polls by Opinium and YouGov.
YouGov also added that Starmer’s net approval rating was -18 just before the election, and rapidly rose to -3 after his party’s victory.
