List of 30 riot targets ARE genuine threat, say cops as PM chairs Cobra & ‘Standing Army’ cops brace for carnage
AN elite squad of cops are on standby to tackle riots planned in 30 areas across Britain.
An army of 6,000 riot officers are bracing to intervene on a swathe of “Enough is Enough” events set for tomorrow night.
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Rioters in south Belfast lobbed petrol bombs at police vansCredit: Press Eye
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Thugs attacking riot cops in PlymouthCredit: Wayne Perry
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Fears for tomorrow night come after a far-right Telegram channel told its followers to “mask up” for raids at 39 locations, including London, Birmingham and ManchesterCredit: Social Media
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Muslim graves were desecrated in BurnleyCredit: Twitter
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Six people were arrested in Plymouth last nightCredit: Wayne Perry
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Cop vehicles were hit by petrol bombs in BelfastCredit: Twitter
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Riot cops stood firm as missiles were hurled in PlymouthCredit: BPM Media
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Thugs torched an asylum centre in Rotherham on SundayCredit: Reuters
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There was also carnage in MiddlesbroughCredit: NCJ Media
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Police have intelligence on 30 areas where thugs are plotting carnage after a string of fiery riots saw officers hit with bricks, bottles and firebombs
A police source said “Wednesday is going to be a busy day”.
Tomorrow night’s fears come after a far-right Telegram channel told its followers to “mask up” for raids at 39 locations, including London, Birmingham and Manchester.
Probed on the post, a police source said: “Wednesday is going to be a busy day. We are still assessing what is credible and what is not.”
Yesterday, Keir Starmer vowed a “Standing Army” of specialist cops will be on hand to crush thugs.
And the PM will tonight chair a second Cobra meeting[1] on continued action to tackle violent disorder.
This afternoon, top cops confirmed 6,000 riot officers are braced to deal with potential trouble.
Counter-terror cops and detectives from elite regional crime units are also involved in targeting far right ringleaders of the violence which has swept Britain.
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Intelligence units are also monitoring social media and going after TikTok warriors responsible for serious offending and organising attacks on hotels housing migrants and mosques.
Far-right thugs are plotting to attack 39 immigration centres and have shared a sick ‘arson manual’ in a vile online forum.
A Telegram group with more than 14,000 members lists details of immigration lawyers[2], charities and advice centres across England.
Evil far-right agitators have posted instructions in the group telling thugs to attack the centres at specific times.
One post in the group was seen by more than 125,000 people in just two hours, The Times[3] reports.
More than 30 far-right gatherings are planned for tomorrow, cops said.
Investigation group Red Flare said the channel also features harrowing calls to murder ethnic minority Brits and government ministers.
Other members of the group have shared vile instructions on how to make petrol bombs.
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One user posted an “arson manual” produced by a Russian-Ukrainian neo-Nazi group called National Socialism/White Power Crew.
The group includes far-right agitators from abroad – including a Spanish fascist who pledged to “fly England to join you guys”.
Some of the asylum centres targeted have now shut or boarded up their windows.
The areas listed include riot hotspots like London, Birmingham, Aldershot, Middlesbrough, Tamworth and Rotherham.
More than 2,000 extra officers have been drafted in to protect the targets in one of the biggest policing operations since the Second World War.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: “We have serious concerns about the safety of our members.”
It comes as…
More than 400 people have now been arrested over the week of carnage on England and Northern Ireland’s streets.
And country’s top prosecutor is considering bringing “terrorism offences” against the worst offenders.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said: “There are sentencing guidelines which indicate that many people who have been caught up in this disorder will face immediate imprisonment. There should be no doubt about that. They are going to prison.
“We are willing to look at terrorism offences. I’m aware of at least one instance where that is happening.
“Where you have organised groups planning activity for the purposes of advancing [an] ideology… planning really, really serious disruption then yes, we will consider terrorism offences.”
A 14-year-old boy and a pensioner are among the yobs convicted today of taking part in scenes[4] of chaos across the UK.
Leanne Hodgson, 43, was found guilty over “violent” chaos after shoving a bin at cops[5] – who calmly stepped out of the way.
It comes after ex Met counter-terror boss Neil Basu said violent rioting is terrorism[6] after cops were hit with petrol bombs last night.
Former counter-terror chief Basu said some of the violence over the past week has “crossed the line into terrorism”.
Basu told the BBC: “I think we have seen serious acts of violence designed to cause terror to a section of our community.”
He said the riots had been sparked by “lies spread through social media” – urging the government to take action.
Basu also slammed Tommy Robinson[7] for “glorifying and creating violence from his sunbed in the Mediterranean”.
Robinson, 41, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had a UK arrest warrant issued against him last Monday after he skipped a court appearance.
The far-right agitator has now fled to a all-inclusive resort in Cyprus – where he has posted a string of inflammatory tweets.
Basu said: “Yaxley-Lennon knows well he’s in the full glare of policing, counter-terrorism policing, and the security service.
“He has spent many years skirting round various fringes of the law.
“He has been able to inflame and toxify debates and create the kind of mayhem we’re seeing.
“If he is not crossing a legal threshold, then the government and society need to consider if that threshold is in the wrong place.”
It comes after riot yobs lobbed missiles at cops, stormed a pub and chucked paint over graves in ANOTHER night of carnage.
Thugs hurled petrol bombs, bricks and bottles at police vans in south Belfast last night – while cops came under attack in Plymouth.
In Burnley, gravestones in a Muslim cemetery were vandalised in what the town’s council leader called an “evil act” by “heinous individuals”.
Violent clashes broke out in dozens of UK towns and cities last week and continued over the weekend.
They have been fuelled by online lies following the murders of three girls in Southport on Monday[8].
Posts wrongly claimed suspect Axel Rudakubana[9] was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Rudakubana, 17, was actually born in Cardiff and raised as a Christian.
Six people were arrested in Plymouth last night after cops were injured in the violence.
And in Birmingham masked protesters interrupted a live news broadcast[10] shouting “F*** the EDL” – before swarming a pub.
In south Belfast, thugs hurled stones and petrol bombs at police vans near a supermarket which had been torched at the weekend.
More than 400 people have now been arrested over the week of carnage on England and Northern Ireland’s streets.
Footage shows how thugs in the Northern Irish capital hurled petrol bombs at police vans.
South Belfast resident Mohammed Idris told the BBC he won’t reopen his cafe after vile thugs torched it at the weekend.
Riot cops were deployed to Sandy Row last night close to a supermarket that was set on fire.
Bottles, petrol bombs and planks of wood were then thrown at police vehicles during the unrest.
Officers with riot shields were seen standing firm as they lined up in a show of force despite missiles sailing through the air.
FULL LIST OF AREAS ON THUGS’ HIT LIST
Aldershot
Canterbury
Chatham
Chelmsford
Bedford
Birmingham
Blackburn
Blackpool
Bolton
Brentford
Brighton
Bristol
Cheadle
Derby
Harrow
Hastings
Hull
Kent
Lincoln
Liverpool
Middlesborough
Newcastle
North Finchley
Northampton
Nottingham
Oldham
Oxford
Peterborough
Portsmouth
Preston
Rotherham
Sheffield
Stoke
Southampton
Southend
Sunderland
Tamworth
Walthamstow
Wigan
Youths dressed in black were also seen throwing stones at police Land Rovers.
In Plymouth, three cops were injured after far-right supporters pelted them with stones and lumps of concrete in fresh clashes.
Several protesters also suffered injuries, bins were set on fire and fireworks were hurled as the opposing groups collided in the seaside city.
More than 150 cops were deployed by Devon and Cornwall Police in a bid to get a grip on the situation.
Officers with riot shields stood firm and have been seen shoving back protesters from both sides who provoked them.
One male officer was pulled off the line with an apparent injury while several protesters needed treatment for head wounds.
Birmingham also saw chaotic scenes as a Sky News van was attacked by knife-wielding man.
Meanwhile, hundreds of yobs wearing balaclavas descended on a pub with a man viciously attacked.
But there were powerful scenes in Liverpool, where mosque leaders embraced far-right protesters and offered them food – reducing some to tears.
Yesterday Sir Keir Starmer hit out at thugs wreaking havoc[11] across Britain.
The PM said violence would not be “tolerated” and the full force of the law will come down on the perpetrators.
Starmer said: “There are a number of actions that came out of the meeting.
“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.
“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.”
A No10 spokesperson warned social media bosses that they have a responsibility to guarantee criminal activity doesn’t appear or run amok on their platforms.
Downing Street also confirmed there are enough free prison cells to ensure every last rioter is locked up.
How riots rocked Britain
Violent clashes broke out in dozens of towns and cities last week and over the weekend following the murders of three girls in Southport[12].
They have been fuelled by online posts wrongly claiming suspect Axel Rudakubana[13] was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Rudakubana, 17, was actually born in Cardiff and raised as a Christian.
Terrifying violence erupted hours after the attack in Southport later spreading to Hartlepool[14] and Manchester[15] on Wednesday.
Riots then broke out in Sunderland[16] and Blackpool on Friday – and in 11 more cities on Saturday and Sunday.
Mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers have been attacked while shops owned by ethnic minority Brits have been looted.
Hundreds of thugs petrol-bombed a hotel housing asylum seekers[17] in Rotherham near Sheffield on Sunday.
Yobs also petrol-bombed a Holiday Inn hosting asylum seekers in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
And last night thugs lobbed petrol bombs, bricks and bottles at cops, stormed a pub and chucked paint over graves in ANOTHER night of carnage.
Rioters hurled petrol bombs at police vans in south Belfast last night – while cops came under attack in Plymouth.
In Burnley, gravestones in a Muslim cemetery were vandalised in what the town’s council leader called an “evil act” by “heinous individuals”.
Six people were arrested in Plymouth after cops were injured in the violence.
And in Birmingham masked protesters interrupted a live news broadcast[18] shouting “F*** the EDL” – before swarming a pub.
The violence has been fuelled by a “rogues’ gallery” of far-right agitators including Tommy Robinson, Andrew Tate and Britain First’s Paul Golding.
References
- ^ chair a second Cobra meeting (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ more than 14,000 members lists details of immigration lawyers (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ The Times (www.thetimes.com)
- ^ are among the yobs convicted today of taking part in scenes (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ found guilty over “violent” chaos after shoving a bin at cops (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ ex Met counter-terror boss Neil Basu said violent rioting is terrorism (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ slammed Tommy Robinson (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ murders of three girls in Southport on Monday (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ Axel Rudakubana (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ masked protesters interrupted a live news broadcast (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ thugs wreaking havoc (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ murders of three girls in Southport (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ Axel Rudakubana (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ spreading to Hartlepool (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ Manchester (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ broke out in Sunderland (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ petrol-bombed a hotel housing asylum seekers (www.thesun.ie)
- ^ masked protesters interrupted a live news broadcast (www.thesun.ie)