The British government has announced, after another night of riots, that it will provide more than 500 places in the prisons and will mobilize 6,000 specialized police officers, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
Over the past week, Britain has been rocked by a series of violent protests that authorities say were organized by far-right groups after three little girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England.
The violence initially began amid partially debunked rumors about the profile of the suspect, who was misrepresented as a Muslim asylum seeker. In fact, the 17-year-old was born in Cardiff, and according to British media, his family is of Rwandan origin.
British Prime Minister, Labour's Keir Starmer, promised "quick" sentences for the rebels and condemned "far-right hatred". "We will ensure that anyone sentenced to prison for rioting and disorder will have a place in prison waiting for them,", Heidi Alexander, minister of state at the Ministry of Justice, told the BBC.
The government has ensured that places that would be available "later in the month" have been released, she explained, citing 567 places.
According to police data, at least 378 people have been arrested since the violence began a week ago, and that number is expected to rise. Heidi Alexander also confirmed to Radio "Times" the mobilization of 6,000 police officers specializing in the maintenance of order, in addition to the announcement made on Monday by Keir Starmer.
Four thousand of those police officers were on hand over the weekend and "another 2,000 will be on hand this week," she stressed.
Last night, violence was again seen across the country, particularly in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In Plymouth, where 150 police officers were deployed last night, six people were arrested and several officers were slightly injured, according to police.
Live footage from "Sky News" showed a tense confrontation between far-right and counter-demonstrators, separated by police officers on both sides of the road and interrupted by throwing objects.