The riots in England over the mass stabbing attack on a children’s dance party continued on Friday evening in Sunderland, where hundreds engaged in violent actions that saw a building set on fire and three police officers injured.
Northumbria Police said that that it faced “serious and sustained levels of violence” on Friday evening, which it described as “utterly deplorable”. The force said that eight people have been arrested so far on charges ranging from burglary to violent disorder.
A total of three police officers were injured during the riot, two of whom remain in hospital for further treatment at the time of this reporting.
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It is the latest in a string of riots in England following the mass stabbing at a children’s ‘Taylor Swift’ dance party in Southport, Merseyside on Monday. The attack, allegedly committed by a Rwandan-heritage teenager, left three young girls dead and eight others injured.
Like the riots seen in Southport earlier this week, rioters threw bricks and clashed with police outside a mosque, the Guardian reports.
In a statement, Chief Superintendent Helena Barron of Northumbria Police said: “The shocking scenes we have witnessed in Sunderland this evening are completely unacceptable.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that the disorder, violence and damage that which has occurred will not be tolerated.”
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – AUGUST 02: Riot police are confronted by activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02, 2024 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
The riots in Sunderland again drew swift condemnation from the political class in Westminster. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The police have the full backing of Government to take the strongest possible action & ensure they face the full force of the law.
“They do not represent Britain,” Cooper added.
Former Home Secretary and current Tory leadership candidate Priti Patel also took a hardline, arguing that the new Labour government and her successor at the Home Office are not doing enough to quell the violent uprising.
“The events we have witnessed overnight in Sunderland were totally unacceptable. As they were in Southport earlier this week and in Harehills in Leeds a fortnight ago,” she said.
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND – AUGUST 02: A police car is set on fire as Far-right activists hold an ‘Enough is Enough’ protest on August 02, 2024 in Sunderland, England. After the murders of three girls in Southport earlier this week, misinformation spread via social media and fueled acts of violent rioting from far-right actors across England. While they prefer to be called ‘concerned parents’, their actions point to racial hatred with a particular focus on Islamophobia thus targeting mosques. (Photo by Drik/Getty Images)
“We should never excuse, or be apologists for, disorder whoever is responsible. Violence and thuggery is always unacceptable. There is no qualification or exception. And politicians on all sides must be willing to stand up and say so.”
“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.”
However, the government’s response to the unrest over the mass stabbing of children, including the establishment of a brand new riot police command and the use of facial recognition to track those in attendance of riots.
New Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, vowed to bring down the “full force of the law” against those involved, to confront “far-right hatred,” and to protect the local Muslim community from backlash after a mosque had its windows broken.
Starmer has been accused of further inflaming tensions, and further protests are scheduled over the weekend in England, mostly in Labour Party strongholds, including in Bristol, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, and Nottingham.