At least 90 arrests made across England and Northern Ireland as police brace for further disorder – live

12.31pm BST

Liverpool city region mayor condemns 'thugs' who set fire to a library last night

Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram has condemned the “thugs” who torched a recently renovated library last night.

The Spellow Lane library hub, which was opened last year to provide support for one of the most deprived communities in the country, suffered severe damage. Police said rioters tried to prevent firefighters from accessing the blaze.

“Devastated to see this wonderful community asset ravaged by thugs,” Rotheram said posting on X.

Rotheram wrote:

Last year, we invested to transform it into a resource to help improve local people’s lives. Last night, ransacked by people who simply do not care for our area.

It was so much more than a library. This was not an attack on a building but an attack on our very community.

This is not protest. This is an insult to those families still grieving and survivors still struggling to make sense of Monday’s attack.

There can and must be consequences. They will feel the full force of the law.”

11.57am BST

No 10 confirms PM will be working from London as it rejects holiday rumours

No 10 has said Keir Starmer will be working from London as always planned over the coming week.

Robert Jenrick , the Conservative leadership candidate, had called on him to “abandon this Nero-esque holiday” following rumours that the prime minister was planning to take time off despite the riots.

But Downing Street rejected the idea, saying Starmer had always been planning to work from London this week.

Updated at 12.00pm BST

11.47am BST

Hampshire police and crime commissioner criticised for saying 'protest groups' focused on 'need to uphold British values'

A police and crime commissioner has been criticised for saying “protest groups” in the wake of the Southport stabbings are focused on “the desire to protect Britain’s sovereignty, the need to uphold British values and in order to do this stop illegal immigration”.

Donna Jones , a Conservative party politician who has been Hampshire police and crime commissioner since 2021 and also chairs the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, had said “arresting people” is “treating the symptom and not the cause”.

The statement, published on the Hampshire PCC website, now appears to have been deleted, reports the PA news agency.

Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester Danny Chambers said he was “deeply concerned” about her remarks, adding:

These extreme views make her totally unsuitable to hold this position of responsibility.”

Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said:

I, as a former CEO of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, would have heavily advised against a current PCC, let alone the chair, appearing to justify rioting and criminality that police officers are bravely having to deal with right now.

Totally unacceptable.”

11.39am BST

Ministers will take a “nick them quick” approach to rioters, with plans for courts to sit for 24 hours to deal with suspects, but said there was no need to bring in the army.

After violent disorder in a number of UK towns and cities, Diana Johnson , the policing minister, said it was “absolutely” the plan to carry out swift arrests, charging and sentencing.

The approach is aimed at taking rioters off the streets as quickly as possible and to act as a deterrent.

Related: ‘Nick them quick’ approach to be used against UK rioters, minister says

11.32am BST

The chief executive of Hull city council has also praised street cleaning teams who got to work as soon as they had clearance from the police.

Videos on social media last night showed shops in Hull city centre looted and on fire.

Posting on X, Matt Jukes added:

The idiots who caused all this don’t define us, our people and those who work to ensure everything gets back to normal do.”

11.17am BST

Street cleaning teams in Hull worked through the night, says city councillor

Street cleaning teams in Hull have worked through the night to ensure the city is open for business today, the city council has said.

Volunteers turned up with brushes from 7am to assist council crews. Areas within the city have largely reopened following Saturday’s disorder, but a number of shops remain closed.

“Yesterday we saw the worst of Hull but already today we have seen the best,” councillor Jack Haines of Hull city council said.

Haines added:

The cleaning teams have made fantastic progress overnight. The main streets are largely clear and the interchange has reopened.

We have already seen the power in our community with volunteers turning up from 7am this morning with brushes to assist council teams. I thank all volunteers and council staff.

With the clean-up largely completed and areas clear, the best way anyone can help today is to come together, enjoy our city and support local shops and business.”

10.51am BST

At least 90 arrests made across England and Northern Ireland so far

At least 90 arrests have been made across the UK, including in London , Hartlepool , Bristol , Belfast , Southport , Hull, Stoke-on-Trent and Liverpool , and some charges have been brought, with police warning of more to come once footage has been scoured.

Keir Starmer held crisis talks with ministers on Saturday over the unrest, with justice secretary Shabana Mahmood telling colleagues “the whole justice system is ready to deliver convictions as quickly as possible”, according to the PA news agency.

Bricks, chairs and bottles have been pelted at officers, mosques have been attacked, and a police station along with a number of community facilities across the country, including a library, have been torched in the violence.

In Liverpool, Merseyside police said about 300 people were involved in violent disorder on County Road , Walton , which included community facilities being set on fire.

The Spellow Lane library hub , which was opened last year to provide support for one of the most deprived communities in the country, suffered severe damage to the ground floor, reports the PA news agency.

Police said rioters tried to prevent firefighters from accessing the blaze, throwing a missile at the fire engine and breaking the rear window of the cab.

A total of 23 people were arrested on Saturday, Merseyside police said , including 12 arrests for the disorder in the city centre, nine arrests for the disorder on County Road and two arrests in connection with disorder in Southport.

One officer was kicked and knocked off his motorcycle by a demonstrator and others tried to kick riot shields.

Assistant chief constable Alex Goss called the behaviour of protesters “deplorable”, adding:

The impact of the disorder will be devastating for the people of Walton, but I promise that we are doing everything in our power to arrest those involved and bring them to justice.”

In Bristol, police made 14 arrests because of violent disorder in the city centre , which Avon and Somerset police described as “completely unacceptable”.

Lancashire police said more than 20 people were arrested and dispersal orders were issued in parts of Blackpool , Preston and Blackburn .

Staffordshire police said 10 people were arrested after disorder in Stoke-on-Trent.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they were treating reports of criminal damage in Belfast as hate crimes and had made two arrests.

Further protests are planned for Sunday and more trouble is likely in the coming days, police said.

“We know people will try and do this again and policing has been and will continue to be ready,” said chief constable Ben-Julian “BJ” Harrington , who speaks on public order for the National Police Chiefs’ Council .

He added:

There are 130 extra units in place across the country, meaning almost 4,000 extra public order-trained officers to deploy.

So if you’re planning to cause trouble and disorder our message is very simple – we’ll be watching you.”

Updated at 12.30pm BST

10.34am BST

Courts could sit for 24 hours to fast-track prosecutions, suggests policing minister

Courts could sit for 24 hours to ensure “thugs” who “maraud our streets” are swiftly brought to justice, while forces have measures in place to draft in extra officers to respond to further unrest, Home Office minister Diana Johnson has indicated.

Prime minister Keir Starmer has given police his “full backing” to take any action necessary to respond to “extremists” attempting to “sow hate” after scenes of disorder in England and Northern Ireland this week.

But concerns have been raised that officers may be left unable to deal with other incidents as a result of the need to focus efforts on the prospect of ongoing rioting, with the Police Federation warning: “There is a cost to all this.”

Asked whether enough is being done to respond to the disorder, policing minister Johnson said the government has been “reassured” forces are able to meet the scale of the challenge.

Despite the government recently announcing the early release of some offenders to ease prison overcrowding, Johnson said there is jail capacity to hand custodial sentences to those “marauding our streets”.

Asked whether courts could be forced to sit overnight to fast-track prosecutions as they did for the 2011 riots, she said the government will do “whatever it takes” to ensure people are brought to justice.

Deputy national chair of the Police Federation, Brian Booth , told the PA news agency that forces can handle the unrest in the short-term, but it will probably put further pressure on already-stretched resources.

“There is a cost to all this,” he said. “Every day this continues means a certain amount of officer hours are being taken away from other policing duties. It has a massive effect on already significant under-resourcing.”

Some areas may see a diminished police presence as a result of less robust preventive patrols because officers “can’t be in two places at once”, he said.

Scanning CCTV and other footage in incident rooms to identify suspects and deploying to the scene of disorder means fewer staff on the beat, Booth added. Officers taken out by injuries will also deplete forces, he said, adding:

It’s truly awful. These are the images I never want to see, of colleagues being battered just for doing their job.”

Updated at 11.40am BST

10.16am BST

'Small but violent' group brought 'unacceptable disorder' to Bristol last night, says police and crime commissioner

A “small but violent” group brought “unacceptable disorder and violence to the streets of Bristol last night”, a police and crime commissioner has said.

“This behaviour is not protest. It is not an expression of legitimate concern. It is criminal,” Clare Moody , the police and crime commissioner for Avon and Somerset said.

Moody said:

These actions do not represent the values of Bristol or the wider Avon and Somerset area. We are a strong, diverse and vibrant community where people from all walks of life live peacefully alongside one another.

I want to extend my gratitude to the police officers who have been on the frontlines, dealing with these disturbances with professionalism and courage.

These actions will have consequences and I welcome Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper’s commitment to ensure that those involved will face the full force of the law.”

“Now is a time for calm and reflection,” she added.

Updated at 10.19am BST

10.06am BST

Campaign group, Stand Up to Racism , has shared a picture of a counter-demonstration taking place outside Lancaster town hall today. On X, the group wrote:

Lancaster says refugees are welcome here. Fascists are not.”

According to its website , Stand Up to Racism have organised at least seven unity rallies and counter-protests today. They are scheduled to take place in Birmingham , Bolton , Cardiff , Derby , Lancaster , Rotherham and Weymouth.

Updated at 10.13am BST

9.49am BST

The PA news agency has more detail on the cafe and supermarket destroyed by fire in South Belfast ( see 9.30am BST ) after violent disorder:

Bashir , who did not wish to provide his surname, and his staff were removing remaining stock from his grocery store, which was set alight on Saturday night. The front and inside of the business were extensively damaged.

He said he had been in business for three years and this was the third time he had been targeted.

The business owner was clearly emotional when asked about his reaction to the attack on his shop. He said:

How do I feel? I can’t describe it, empty mind, we couldn’t even sleep [last night], the words, I can’t even describe what has happened to be honest.

There is no message for people like this. When people do this, when people do something like this, you think they will accept the message?”

Across the road from the supermarket, a cafe seemed to have been completely destroyed by fire. The sign on the Bash cafe offers Arabic coffee and falafels. Windows were broken at the business and the interior was extensively damaged by smoke and fire.

There was evidence of a number of fires on the road, with bins and some vehicles burnt out. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said it had attended a shop and a cafe on fire on Donegall Road on Saturday night. It said the cause of both fires had been determined as deliberate.

9.36am BST

Stormont leaders including first minister Michelle O’Neill , deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly and justice minister Naomi Long have condemned the violence in Belfast .

Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn praised the police for their response to the unrest.

DUP MLA Edwin Poots said many of those involved were not from south Belfast .

He said:

The violence witnessed in south Belfast is totally wrong and unacceptable. Many of those engaged in the violence are not local and many in the local community are expressing their unhappiness at the rioting.

People are angry and frustrated. Over the course of the last year councillor Tracy Kelly and I have raised many issues affecting communities in south Belfast, which government bodies have largely ignored.

Acts of violence and destruction of the area which we are trying to get investment into is totally counterproductive.”

Updated at 9.38am BST

9.30am BST

Clean up begins in Belfast after night of rioting leaves cafe and supermarket damaged by fire

A cafe and a supermarket in south Belfast have been badly damaged by fire after attacks which followed rioting in the city.

A number of cars were also burnt out as the police attempted to deal with the disorder in the Donegall Road area which lasted several hours on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, reports the PA news agency.

Firefighters were also at the scene dealing with a number of deliberate fires.

On Sunday morning the clean up had begun. Supermarket manager Bashir ’s business was extensively damaged by fire. He told the PA news agency that the Islamic community was being targeted.

He said:

People attacked this place, racism against Islam and Muslims, especially the Muslim community.”

He added:

All of that happened and the police did nothing, I am telling you the truth. What kind of police are letting the people burn everything down?”

The violence on Saturday night followed unrest earlier in the day after businesses were attacked when an anti-immigration rally moved through the city.

Police mounted a significant security operation during a lengthy confrontation between the group and those taking part in a counter-demonstration at Belfast city hall during which fireworks and other missiles were thrown.

According to the PA news agency, people taking part in the anti-Islam rally then travelled towards the university area of the city where there were clashes with residents of the Lower Ormeau area . A business was attacked in the Botanic area of the city and windows were smashed at a hotel.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they were treating reports of criminal damage as hate crimes and had made two arrests.

9.11am BST

A key factor in this spread of online disinformation involved Elon Musk ’s decision to allow rightwing activists such as Tommy Robinson back on to his social media platform X, said Joe Mulhall , director of research at Hope Not Hate , the anti-fascism organisation. “The initial disinformation and anger was being perpetrated by individuals on Twitter, for example, that have been previously deplatformed,” he said. “And now they’ve been replatformed.”

Robinson was permanently banned from the platform (then called Twitter) in March 2018, then reinstated in November last year, after Musk bought it. “We hadn’t seen any significant numbers at any demonstrations since 2018,” Mulhall added.

An example of the danger posed by the misuse of social media was revealed in Stoke-on-Trent , where police were forced to deny there had been a stabbing, countering claims made on social media. “There is growing speculation that a stabbing has taken place as a result of the disorder today. We can confirm this information is false and no stabbings have been reported to police or emergency responders, despite videos fuelling speculation on social media,” police said.

The danger of such intervention was stressed by Ben-Julian “BJ” Harrington , the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for public order, who condemned social media disinformation as a cause of last week’s disorder.

He said:

We had reports today that two people had been stabbed by Muslims in Stoke – it’s just not true. There’s people out there, not even in this country, circulating and stoking up hatred, division and concerns in communities that they don’t care about, don’t know and don’t understand.”

9.06am BST

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Tiffany Lynch from the Police Federation of England and Wales said on intelligence:

We have our intelligence officers out there [in the community].

What we also have is disinformation across social media, which obviously needs to be addressed quickly.”

On violence against police, she said:

We saw at the very start of this week … the tragic horrific killing of three young children and the injured children … a day of reflection quickly turned into horrific violence, and towards police officers that are there to protect everybody.

We will continue keeping up this policing for as long as it takes. We need it to stop, and we need it to stop immediately. We will mobilise immediately. We are 24/7, 365 days a year. We need the public to get behind the police, to get behind the call for this to stop.”

8.58am BST

On Saturday bricks were hurled at police officers in Stoke-on-Trent , fireworks were thrown amid tense exchanges between an anti-Islamic group and an anti-racism rally in Belfast , and windows of a hotel which has been used to house migrants were smashed in Hull , where three police officers were injured and four people arrested. Later video footage on social media showed shops on fire. Several officers were also injured during “serious disorder” in Liverpool city centre, where bricks, bottles and a flare were thrown and two officers needed hospital treatment and six arrests were made. Greater Manchester police said a dispersal notice had been authorised for the city centre. Scuffles broke out as opposing groups faced each other in Nottingham ’s Old Market Square with bottles and other items thrown from both sides.

About 150 people carrying St George’s Cross flags, shouting “you’re not English any more” and “paedo Muslims off our street”, were greatly outnumbered in Leeds by hundreds of counter-protesters shouting “Nazi scum off our streets”. Skirmishes broke out between demonstrators and punks – in town for a festival – in Blackpool , with bottles and chairs thrown.

In Bristol , police kept protesters and counter protesters apart before a group headed to a hotel used to house asylum seekers.

The need for urgent political intervention was stressed by the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, Lord Walney , who told the Observer that new emergency powers may be needed. “The system isn’t set up to deal with this rolling rabble-rousing being fuelled by far-right actors,” he said.

“I think Home Office ministers may want to look urgently at a new emergency framework – perhaps temporary in nature – that enables police to use the full powers of arrest to prevent people gathering where there is clear intent to fuel violent disorder.”

Related: Dozens arrested in violent clashes across UK as government warns rioters ‘will pay the price’

Updated at 9.01am BST

8.49am BST

Technology secretary discussing misinformation with social media companies, says Home Office minister

There is “no need” to bring in the army to deal with unrest in parts of England, Diana Johnson said.

Asked whether the government would draft in the military to help respond, the Home Office minister told BBC News:

There is no need to bring in the army and there has been no discussion about that.

As I say, the police have made it very clear that they have all the resources they need at the moment … they have the powers that they need.”

Technology secretary Peter Kyle has been having discussions with social media companies about misinformation spread online, Johnson said.

“Obviously we need to do more because you’re absolutely right there has been that spread of misinformation which has caused problems this week,” she added.

8.44am BST

The government has been “reassured” that police have the resources they need to deal with disorder in parts of the UK, a Home Office minister has said.

Asked whether enough was being done to tackle the unrest, Diana Johnson told BBC News she wanted to send “a very clear message” that those involved would be brought to justice.

It comes as the Police Federation voiced concerns that officers may not be able to attend other incidents as they scramble to respond to the widespread disorder.

“We have been reassured that the police have the resources that they need to be able to deal with what’s happening at the moment,” Johnson said.

She added:

They have longstanding plans in place for mutual aid if they need to put extra police officers into certain parts of the country. We are certainly not hearing that things like 999 calls are not being answered.”

The policing minister insisted there would be “penalties and consequences” for criminal disorder and it would “not be tolerated.”

8.41am BST

Rioting 'flooding across major cities and towns' as police brace for more disorder

Multiple towns and cities yesterday across the UK saw clashes between anti-immigration demonstrators and counter-protesters, with police officers attacked and injured, and many more arrests promised.

Dozens of arrests were made after the scenes of disorder, with police warning that further violence is likely in the coming days.

Tiffany Lynch , acting national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales condemned the recent rioting and violence against police. She told BBC Breakfast:

It is an abhorrent, senseless act of violence against our police officers, towards our public buildings who are there to serve the community.”

[These acts are those of] a small minority and it doesn’t represent the community of Great Britain. It is absolutely abhorrent.”

She added:

We’ve had riots and clashes of this nature, but they have been pocketed in particular areas of the country. We’re now seeing it flooding across major cities and towns.

We’re seeing officers that are being pulled from day-to-day policing to … go out there and essentially protect our communities.

But while that’s happening, the communities that are out there that are having incidents against them – victims of crime – unfortunately, their crimes are not being investigated.

We’re not going to be able to attend all of the incidents that are coming in on the 999s because we’re having to direct the priorities of what’s happening on the streets.”