MPs from across the political spectrum have condemned the far-right as violent riots continue to spread across the country.
Among them was Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who said this evening that those responsible will ‘pay the price’.
Unrest has broken out in several cities over the past few days, following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport on Monday.
Manchester, Belfast, Liverpool and Leeds all saw far right and counter protests today, but it was last night’s disorder in Sunderland that was particularly violent.
Police officers were attacked, a police station and two cars were set on fire and a mosque was targeted.
At least eight people have been arrested for a range of offences, including violent disorder and burglary, said Northumberland Police.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said ‘criminal violence and disorder has no place on Britain’s streets’.
She told broadcasters: We’ve been clear to the police that they have our full backing in taking the strongest possible action against perpetrators, including making sure that there are more prosecutors, there are sufficient prison places and also that the courts stand ready because anyone who engages in this kind of disorder needs to be clear that they will pay the price.’
Sunderland Central Labour MP Lewis Atkinson described the protesters responsible as ‘racist’ said he was really sad for the city.
He added: ‘A night of idiots will not prevent us from building.’
Mr Atkinson said he believes a Nazi offshoot of the now disbanded English Defence League (EDL), led by Tommy Robinson, were involved in last night’s violence.
Asked how the disorder had happened, Mr Atkinson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that protests had been suggested by people in a number of social media groups in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
‘The far right, for example Stephen Yaxley Lennon (known as Tommy Robinson), picked up on those and started promoting those and encouraging known far right individuals to join,’ he said.
Asked whether a link could be drawn with the EDL, he said: ‘I can draw a link because last night one of the flags on the street bore the reference to the North East Infidels, which is a Nazi, EDL offshoot from the North East chapter of what was the EDL.’
Education Secretary and minister for women and equalities, and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, Bridget Phillipson posted on X, saying: ‘The scenes in our city centre tonight are shocking. We have seen unforgivable violence and thuggery.
‘The criminals involved in this appalling disorder must be identified, prosecuted and punished with the full force of the law.’
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
An extra 70 prosecutors have been drafted in on standby this weekend to charge people who set out to cause violent disorder as the authorities prepared to deal with dozens of further demonstrations today and tomorrow.
When asked by the BBC, Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said he would ‘absolutely’ condemn the far right for organising the disorder, adding, ‘We need to ensure that the police have all the support that they need.’.
Meanwhile, fellow Conservative leadership contender and former home secretary Priti Patel demanded Parliament be recalled over the violence and criticised the government response, warning: ‘Saying the nation is ‘braced for disorder’ is not only breathtakingly complacent, but both troubling and inadequate.
‘The government is now in danger of appearing to be swept away with events rather than maintaining control of them.’
She added: ‘Now is a moment for national reflection and solidarity – to pull back from the wave of violence we have seen, to call it out for what it is – without fear or favour – and for parliament to speak with one voice in condemnation.’
Mayor of the North East Kim McGuinness praised the people of Sunderland for cleaning up the wreckage of the riot, which she said showed ‘the true spirit of what we are as the North East and as Sunderland’.
The violence started on Tuesday after hundreds of people had turned out to pay their respects to Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, at a vigil.
A group of rioters, many with their faces covered, gathered outside a mosque, where they attacked the front of the building by throwing several missiles.
They also threw objects, including wheelie bins, at police officers, leaving 53 officers and three police dogs injured.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later condemned the ‘thugs’ who had travelled to the town to cause unrest.
Rudakubana is also charged with the attempted murders of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade.
He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October.
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