Minister: unhelpful for politicians to be encouraging demonstrations on the streets
Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said he does not think it is helpful for politicians to encourage people to attend peaceful protests while police forces have been stretched to cope with several days of violent far-right disorder.
PA Media reports the Cabinet Office minister told viewers of Sky News:
Having spoken to police officers yesterday about the strain that they are under, the hours that they are working, I certainly don’t think it helps for politicians to be encouraging even more people out on our streets.
Nonetheless, we should make that distinction between that tradition of British peaceful protest – which is very much part of our politics – and the violent thuggery we’ve seen on our streets.
People who turn up outside with weapons are not coming to protest about anything – they are coming with criminal intent. We should be very clear about that distinction.”
Key events
Some jailed rioters could be released early due to scheme to tackle prison overcrowding
Rajeev Syal
Rajeev Syal is home affairs editor of the Guardian
Rioters jailed over recent disorder could be released from prison early under a scheme to tackle overcrowding, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
Last month, ministers announced that they were changing the law to allow some criminals to leave prison early because of a lack of jail space.
Criminals serving determinate sentences would be able to leave after serving 40 per cent of their custodial sentence rather than the current 50 per cent.
Some of those found guilty of violent offences in connection with the riots have been given sentences lower than the four-year limit. At Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, three were given sentences of three years, 30 months and 20 months.
The release points for those convicted of involvement in violent disorder will depend upon the offence they are convicted of and the sentence they receive.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The Government has brought in over 500 new prison places early, to ensure there is a cell waiting for everyone involved in the recent disorder and thuggery.
“The justice secretary was forced to introduce the emergency capacity measures last month, to address the prison crisis the government inherited.”
Police in Northern Ireland promise to stop disorder as more demonstrations planned for Belfast
Rory Carroll
Rory Carroll is the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent
Police in Northern Ireland are bracing for potential fresh clashes in Belfast on Friday when rival groups are due to gather outside the city hall.
A police spokesperson promised a “significant” security operation in Belfast on Friday even though reinforcements from Scotland will not arrive until next week.
An anti-racism rally is scheduled at 4.30pm and an anti-immigrant one is expected at 5pm, presenting another challenge for a force over-stretched by five consecutive nights of disorder.
The chief constable, Jon Boutcher, said 120 officers from Scotland who were trained in public order would arrive next Tuesday to bolster his exhausted force. “The PSNI will deal with this disorder … we will stop it,” said Boutcher.
Earlier this week the Police Federation for Northern Ireland said chronic underfunding had left the Police Service of Northern Ireland at “breaking point”.
Sporadic incidents on Thursday night – bricks thrown at officers, a car set on fire, house windows smashed – were smaller-scale than previous nights, when rioters emulated the disorder in England that erupted after the killing of three girls in Southport.
However the protests planned on Friday prompted Queen’s University Belfast to close its campus for the day. Some city centre businesses are considering closing early. On Thursday the police said a purported police statement circulating on social media that urged businesses to close at 2pm was fake.
Scotland’s first minister has told social media companies “immediate action” must be taken to crack down on disinformation and racism.
John Swinney said police chiefs in Scotland have raised concern at the length of time it takes for technology companies to remove “problematic” posts, telling social media bosses:
It is clear to me that social media platforms have a duty to take action to ensure that individuals in our society are not subjected to hate and threatening behaviour, and that communities are protected from violent disorder.
Everyone has a role in stopping the spread of misinformation. You and your platform have a specific responsibility to do so.
Given the seriousness of the situation, action needs to be immediate and decisive.
A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a charge assault by beating of a police officer at a protest in Southampton on Wednesday, PA Media reports.
A 19-year-old man has been charged in connection with violent disorder in Liverpool last week, Merseyside police said. Cleveland police said two men from Hartlepool have been charged with violent disorder, and a 49-year-old man in the West Midlands has been charged with possessing an imitation firearm after video was circulated on social media on Monday.
Mabel Banfield-Nwachi
Ministers will keep the Online Safety Act under review , a government minister has said, after the London mayor called it “not fit for purpose” in light of the spread of misinformation, which he said contributed to this month’s far-right riots.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the paymaster general, said Sadiq Khan raised a “legitimate policy challenge” when he told the Guardian there needed to be amendments to the Online Safety Act.
Khan added that the government should “very quickly … check if it is fit for purpose”, and said he did not think it was.
“I think very swiftly the government has realised there needs to be amendments to the Online Safety Act,” Khan said. “I think what the government should do very quickly is check if it is fit for purpose. I think it’s not fit for purpose.”
Thomas-Symonds said the government was prepared to “quickly review and consider” the act, and that police would “come after people” found to be inciting violence online.
“If we need to act in relation to online safety laws, we will. Sadiq Khan’s challenge is that we quickly review it, consider it, and that’s exactly what we will do … That’s a very legitimate policy challenge, it’s important to get that right.
“But irrespective of that policy debate, people who are acting now doing illegal things online like inciting violence, encouraging violence, organising violence, that is against the law now, and if you are doing that now, just as if you are engaging in threats or violent disorders on our streets, the police will come after you.”
“They will also come after you if you are behaving like that online as well,” he said.
Read more here: Online Safety Act to be reviewed after Sadiq Khan criticism, says minister
Police in Northern Ireland make appeal to public after further disorder and race-related hate crime incidents
Police in Northern Ireland have appealed to the public to not allow criminals to hide in their communities, after another night of disorder.
PA Media reports the PSNI said it responded to several race-related hate crime incidents and other disorder on Thursday night.
Officers dealt with a number of reports of criminal damage to property including a car being set on fire and a window of a house being broken.
Assistant chief constable Melanie Jones said:
Our officers dealt with a fifth night of incidents such as criminal damage, disorder and arson. Those who are intent on causing disorder or committing offences, need to think of the consequences of their actions.
Yesterday we issued six images of people we want to speak to in relation to this recent disorder. One individual has since been identified and we thank the public for their assistance with this.
I am also appealing to the public directly, do not let these criminals hide in your community. Anyone with any information which can help identify any of these individuals should contact us.
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson, who earlier this week posted to social media about protester Steve Bray saying “About time the law caught up with this public nuisance. Let’s hope the court case is costly and keeps our streets clear of this freak show” has this morning complained on social media “It feels like free speech is coming to an end” at the prospect of legislation defining Islamophobia.
Zarah Sultana, the MP for Coventry South, writes for the Guardian today, arguing that the enemy of the working class travels by private jet, not migrant dinghy:
The fuse may have been set alight by online disinformation and secretive social media channels, but this explosion of far-right violence has been decades in the making. And while Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson) and his mob of far-right agitators are its immediate instigators, much of Britain’s political and media class is complicit in laying the groundwork for this eruption of hate.
This truth of how we reached this point flips the normal classist narrative about racism in Britain. The reality is that racism isn’t a bottom-up expression of popular discontent, but a top-down project propagated by people in positions of power.
Just think about how the billionaire-owned rightwing press drip-feeds hate into British politics, splashing fearmongering headlines across their papers: “Islamist plotters in schools across the UK” – the Telegraph; “1 in 5 Brit Muslims’ sympathy for jihadis” – the Sun; “Migrants spark housing crisis” – the Daily Mail.
Or think how Conservative politicians normalise far-right rhetoric, dehumanising people and spreading hate. From “one nation” Conservatives such as David Cameron who as prime minister described migrants as a “swarm”, to the likes of Suella Braverman who as home secretary said there was a migrant “invasion”. Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the boats” slogan is now a far-right chant and just this week the Tory party leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said the police should “immediately arrest” people shouting “Allahu Akbar” on the street, the Arabic phrase meaning “God is great” – the equivalent of a Christian saying “hallelujah”.
Read more here: Zarah Sultana – The enemy of the working class travels by private jet, not migrant dinghy
Former foreign and home secretary James Cleverly has used the news that the number of people applying to study and work in the UK has dropped to bolster his credentials as a potential future leader. Link to reports about the drop in numbers, Cleverly posted to social media to say “If you want to know what I’d do as party leader … look at what I’ve already done.”
Minister: Online Safety Act will be reviewed after call by Sadiq Khan
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said that the government will respond to Sadiq Khan’s call for a review of the Online Safety Act.
He told listeners of the BBC Radio 4 programme “Sadiq Khan’s challenge is that we quickly review it, consider it, and that’s exactly what we will do. If we need to act in relation to online safety laws – we will.”
The act, which became law last October, gives Ofcom the power to fine social media companies up to £18m or 10% of their global turnover if they fail to take robust action against content inciting violence or terrorism.
Ofcom is still drafting guidelines on how it will implement the law, and enforcement is not expected to begin until next year.
“I think very swiftly the government has realised there needs to be amendments to the Online Safety Act,” Khan said in an interview with the Guardian. “I think what the government should do very quickly is check if it is fit for purpose. I think it’s not fit for purpose.”
Khan said there were “things that could be done by responsible social media platforms” but added: “If they don’t sort their own house out, regulation is coming.”
Read more here: Online Safety Act not fit for purpose after far-right riots, says Sadiq Khan
More people are expected to be charged and sentenced today after days of violent far-right unrest. Three men are due to appear in court after being charged with violent disorder in Sunderland. At least a dozen people were jailed on Thursday for their part in the riots of the past ten days, with sentencing due for four defendants in a Leeds court this morning, during which cameras are to be permitted. Sentencing is also taking place in Newcastle, Teesside, Liverpool, Sheffield, Northampton and London.
Minister: additional police officers to be available heading into weekend after unrest
A government minister has said that there will continue to be additional police officers going into a weekend when the English Football League starts and high temperatures are expected, which has caused some concern that far-right violent disorder might flare again.
Asked about fears “far-right groups could seek to exploit” fixtures, Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News: “You always are vigilant about far-right activity and that is what the Government will continue to be.
He continued “going into this weekend, it’s important that the message continues to go out that if you engage in violent, thuggish behaviour on our streets, you’re going to be dealt with quickly by the criminal justice system.
“We’ve already seen sentences of up to three years handed down, people now facing the inside of a prison cell because of the appalling way in which they’ve conducted themselves in recent days.
“But also we’ll continue to make those additional officers available and where there are communities with particular fears – I was in Bristol for example yesterday talking to Muslim community leaders – we will make sure that we make protection available to those communities as well. It’s hugely important.”
Because of a new television deal with Sky Sports, for the first time on the opening weekend of the season all Championship matches have been moved to a 12.30 kick off, and all League One matches have been moved to a 5.30pm kick off, lengthening the time that authorities expect football fans to be travelling.
Thomas-Symonds is Paymaster General and minister for the Cabinet Office.
Minister: unhelpful for politicians to be encouraging demonstrations on the streets
Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has said he does not think it is helpful for politicians to encourage people to attend peaceful protests while police forces have been stretched to cope with several days of violent far-right disorder.
PA Media reports the Cabinet Office minister told viewers of Sky News:
Having spoken to police officers yesterday about the strain that they are under, the hours that they are working, I certainly don’t think it helps for politicians to be encouraging even more people out on our streets.
Nonetheless, we should make that distinction between that tradition of British peaceful protest – which is very much part of our politics – and the violent thuggery we’ve seen on our streets.
People who turn up outside with weapons are not coming to protest about anything – they are coming with criminal intent. We should be very clear about that distinction.”
Welcome and opening summary …
Good morning. Welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics. Here are your headlines …
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A government minister has said it is “unhelpful” for politicians to encourage people to attend peaceful demonstrations while the police are under strain from far-right violent disorder
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Laws designed to counter misinformation are “not fit for purpose” and must be revisited after the spread of online falsehoods contributed to this month’s far-right riots, the mayor of London has said
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Muslim NHS workers report rise in racist abuse since far-right riots began
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The number of people applying to work or study in UK falls by more than a third
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A leading rightwing thinktank has called for an end to the two-child limit on benefits in a move that will put further pressure on the Labour government to rethink its stance
It is Martin Belam with you for the next few hours. You can get in touch at martin.belam@theguardian.com.