Home Secretary says respect for police must be restored after riots

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said respect for the police must be restored after they faced “brazen abuse and contempt” during rioting.

Attacks on local communities and police are a “disgraceful assault on the rule of law itself,” she said.

“As home secretary, I am not prepared to tolerate the brazen abuse and contempt which a minority have felt able to show towards our men and women in uniform, or the disrespect for law and order that has been allowed to grow in recent years,” Ms Cooper wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

“As well as punishing those responsible for the last fortnight’s violent disorder, we must take action to restore respect for the police and respect for the law.”

Lots of people across Britain have strong views on law and order, immigration, and the NHS. But they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police.

She said it was crucial to maintain a strong police response on the ground and keep up the pace of arrests and prosecutions. Around 6,000 officers have been mobilised to respond to incidents of violence and disorder around the country.

“Lots of people across Britain have strong views on law and order, immigration, and the NHS. But they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police, loot shops or wreck cars, attack people because of the colour of their skin, or set light to buildings knowing people are inside,” Ms Cooper said.

“The Prime Minister and I made clear to the police at the outset of this disorder that they would have the Government’s full support in taking the strongest possible action against every level of perpetrator.”

During the weekend, police have continued to charge people and courts have continued to progress cases in relation to the unrest that followed the Southport stabbings.

Sir Keir Starmer has cancelled plans to take a summer holiday as the Government continues to deal with the fallout from the rioting.

He had instructed police to stay on high alert at the weekend, but no widespread unrest materialised.

Anti-racism protesters gathered in London, Belfast and Edinburgh. Thousands demonstrated outside the headquarters of Reform UK.