DEFIANT locals have united to clean up Britain again – after hundreds of far-right thugs turned the nation’s streets into warzones.
More than 420 people have been arrested after social media lies whipped up riots across the UK.
Mosques and asylum hostels across the country have been attacked and shops owned by ethnic minority Brits have been looted.
Snaps show the devastation which rioters have left behind in many towns this morning.
One photo shows a torched upside-down car in Middlesbrough – with thugs responsible nowhere to be seen.
The decent majority of locals in the Teesside town have united to clean up their streets.
Pensioners have been spotted getting on their hands and knees to pick broken glass out of drains.
Other locals have gone into the street with brooms to clear up the debris.
Similar clean-up operations are underway across many of the towns hit by riots over the weekend.
Hundreds of thugs petrol-bombed a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, near Sheffield, yesterday.
Rioters in balaclavas hurled bricks and fire extinguishers at cops who tried in vain to stop them torching the hotel.
Ten riot cops were injured – including one who was knocked out after suffering a head injury.
Yobs also petrol-bombed a Holiday Inn hosting asylum seekers in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
A children’s library in Liverpool and a Citizens’ Advice centre in Sunderland were also torched over the weekend.
Mosques across the country have been attacked and shops owned by ethnic minority Brits have been looted.
Today Sir Keir Starmer summoned ministers and police chiefs for the first Cobra meeting since the riots started.
The PM hit out at the depraved far-right maniacs wreaking havoc across Britain by cruelly targeting and attacking ethnic minorities.
He said: “This is not protest – this is violence. We’re not going to tolerate that in this country.”
Speaking after the meeting, the Prime Minister 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.
Hate and hope
There are several things to be learned from the sickening scenes of rioting across the UK following the murders of three innocent little girls in Southport.
That relying on the Wild West of social media to get news — instead of regulated, traditional and trusted media — opens users to a constant feed of fakery from distorted algorithms.
That a lack of speedy transparency from the police and other authorities often creates a vacuum into which lies are peddled by twisted conspiracy theorists.
This in turn is fuelled by disinformation deliberately spread by malign foreign states like Russia to sow discord in the UK.
There is no question the courts should now throw the book at the drunk and drugged-up far-right thugs responsible for mindless violence in towns like Rotherham.
Punishment, too, should be meted out to the hard-Left and Islamists also seeking to drive a wedge in our communities.
But it remains the case that unless the Government grips the twin problems of violent crime and illegal migration, vile organised racists and fanatics will always seek to exploit those issues.
That is precisely why Sir Keir Starmer wants to bring the full force of justice against the mobs.
Yet amid the sickening and depressing scenes, we have also been shown the uplifting true face of Britain.
Southport’s mosque repaired by volunteer builders, locals leading clean-up operations in their towns.
The far-Right faced down as, ultimately, they always have been.
Because it’s vital to remember that this remains a moderate, tolerant country — always capable of delivering a mocking brick-in-the-balls to the fascists who deserve derision as well as contempt.
We haven’t let them win before and we won’t start now.
“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.”
The PM and top cops put online and in-person thugs on notice, warning the full force of the law will come down on them.
Last night the PM said the “far-right thugs” behind the riots would regret their actions.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper slammed the “disgraceful” riots – saying they betray Britain’s values.
Writing in The Times, Cooper said: “Make no mistake – there will be a reckoning for the individuals who took part in this violence.
“Whatever they and some of their political supporters may tell us, these are not patriots standing up for their communities.
“They are thugs, criminals, and extremists who betray the very values our country is built on.”
Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly told Times Radio: “Mosques are being targeted, asylum hotels are being targeted.
“We are seeing people with swastika tattoos and giving Nazi salutes – this is self-evidently driven in significant part by the far right.
“We know that there is a very active online community stirring up hatred, stirring up the kind of attitudes which trigger events like this.
“So we know where this is coming from. It is absolutely right to describe the actions of these people as the far right.”
Hundreds of thugs petrol-bombed a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, near Sheffield, yesterday.
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.
Posts wrongly claimed suspect Axel Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Rudakubana, 17, was actually born in Cardiff and raised as a Christian.
Terrifying violence followed the attack in Southport, before unrest spread to Hartlepool and Manchester on Wednesday.
Riots then broke out in Sunderland and Blackpool on Friday – and in 11 more cities on Saturday and Sunday.
