Suspected far-right rioters appeared in British courts on Tuesday as the government said 6,000 specialist police were ready to deal with England’s worst disorder in over a decade.
Almost 400 people have been arrested and 100 charged over the week-long disturbances sparked by online misinformation about the murder of three children in a mass stabbing, with police bracing for further possible violence.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former chief state prosecutor, said he expected “substantive sentencing before the end of this week” for the rioters, after chairing his second emergency meeting in as many days late Tuesday.
“That should send a very powerful message to anybody involved, either directly or online,” he added in televised comments.
The unrest, Britain’s worst since the 2011 London riots, has led a number of countries to warn its citizens about the dangers of travelling in the United Kingdom.
Rioting in several cities has seen demonstrators throw bricks and flares at police officers, burn cars and attack mosques and at least two hotels that have been used as accommodation for asylum seekers.
Scores of alleged perpetrators were hauled before judges on Tuesday, with some entering guilty pleas.
A 19-year-old man became the first person to receive a prison sentence related to the unrest when he received a two-month term Tuesday, PA Media reported.
Another man was convicted after he admitted assaulting a police officer outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, northern England, on Sunday.
A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to committing violent disorder in Liverpool on Saturday after he was identified from a TikTok video, while a man in Leeds admitted posting threatening words on Facebook to stir up racial hatred.
Unrest started last Tuesday after three children were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northwest England.
