UK PM Starmer vows rioters will 'regret' disorder
UK leader Keir Starmer warned far-right protesters on Sunday they would "regret" participating in England's worst rioting in 13 years, as disturbances linked to the murder of three children earlier this week flared across the country. Masked anti-immigration demonstrators smashed several windows at a hotel that has been used to house asylum seekers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Unrest related to misinformation about the mass stabbing last Monday in the northwestern English seaside town of Southport has hit multiple towns and cities, with anti-immigration demonstrators clashing with police. The violence is a major challenge for Starmer, elected only a month ago after leading Labour to a landslide win over the Conservatives. "I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online, and then running away themselves," Starmer said in a TV address. There was "no justification" for what he called "far-right thuggery", he added, promising to bring the perpetrators "to justice". In the northeastern English city of Middlesbrough, hundreds of protesters squared up to riot police carrying shields. Some threw bricks, cans and pots at officers. Protesters there seized a camera from an AFP crew and broke it. The journalists were not injured. The fresh disturbances came after police said more than 150 people had been arrested since Saturday following skirmishes at far-right rallies in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland. Rioters threw bricks, bottles and flares at police -- injuring several officers -- and looted and burnt shops, while demonstrators shouted anti-Islamic slurs as they clashed with counter-protesters. The violence is the worst England has seen since summer 2011, when widespread rioting followed the police killing of a mixed-race man in north London. Late Sunday, Staffordshire police said another hotel known to have sheltered asylum seekers was targeted near Birmingham. "A large group of individuals" have been "throwing projectiles, smashing windows, starting fires and targeting police" at the hotel in the town of Tamworth, with one officer injured, said the statement. (AFP)