UK prime minister talks of 'standing army' of police to deal with rioting

6/8/2024 7:57

        British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that a "standing army" of specialist police would be set up to deal with rioting and that the justice system would be ramped up to handle hundreds of arrests after violent disorder rocked cities across the nation over the past week.
        
        Starmer convened an urgent meeting after lawlessness he blamed on "far-right thuggery" that was driven in part by misinformation on social media that whipped up anger over a stabbing rampage at a dance class that killed three girls and wounded 10 people. False rumors spread online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum-seeker led to attacks on immigrants and mosques.
        
        "Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest. It is pure violence and we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim communities," Starmer said. "The full force of the law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part in these activities."