Threat of more protests over Southport stabbings – as prime minister vows crackdown on ‘thugs’
Several protests have been planned for the coming days over the Southport stabbings – despite a warning from the prime minister he will not allow a “breakdown of law and order on our streets”.
Announcing a new police unit to tackle violent disorder, Sir Keir Starmer blamed “a gang of thugs” for a riot in Southport which saw dozens of police officers injured in a clash with a crowd of men outside a mosque.
The unrest came a day after three girls were killed in a knife attack in the town – and was followed by the arrests of more than 100 protesters when disorder broke out in central London.
Police have faced other incidents in Hartlepool, Aldershot and Manchester.
Mr Starmer blamed “far-right hatred” for the spread of unrest and promised greater use of shared intelligence, facial recognition technology and “preventative action” – such as criminal behaviour orders which restrict people’s movements before they attempt to take part in another demonstration.
Despite this, there are plans for more protests over the coming days.
Sky News has seen posts on social media promoting events in cities across the UK, including one targeting a mosque.
Many of the posts contain phrases such as “enough is enough”, “save our kids” or “stop the boats”.
There is evidence of at least 15 protests advertised online, PA news agency reports.
It comes as seven men were charged with violent disorder over clashes with police in Hartlepool.
An 11-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of arson after a police car was set alight during the incident.
Suspect named to stop misinformation
False narratives about the Southport suspect’s nationality and religion spread online after Monday’s attack, with far-right groups reposting the claims and organising on messaging app Telegram.
It prompted Judge Andrew Menary KC to allow the naming of suspect Axel Rudakubana, who normally would have been granted anonymity as he is 17.
Rudakubana, who appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, is charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Judge Menary said: “Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.”
He added: “Whilst I accept it is exceptional, given his age, principally because he is 18 in six days’ time, I do not make an order under section 45 [of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999].”
During the 55-minute hearing, Rudakubana put his head down inside his grey sweatshirt and at times rocked back and forth and side to side.
A provisional trial date, lasting six weeks, is scheduled for 20 January.
TikTok accounts trying to cause unrest
Organisers responsible for encouraging people to attend the Southport riot appear to be attempting to seed unrest in other cities via a network of anonymous TikTok profiles, Sky News has found.
Prior to the riot, an anonymous account with the username @quercrqfi6j posted inflammatory graphics calling for mass deportations, urging people to wear masks and directing them to assemble on Southport’s Luke Road.
Content that first appeared on this TikTok account was then shared by larger accounts on X where they were seen by a far larger audience.
Sky News has found a network of new accounts that resemble @quercrqfi6j.
All are new, and post similar content in an identical format to a post that originally appeared on the account.
All have posted at least one image consisting of red text boxes laid over a screenshot, ending messages with a series of fire emojis.
They appear to have been created to give the appearance they are run by people local to various UK cities, with all but one using a place name and various words relating to a group of men in their username.
One of these accounts follows the format of another @quercrqfi6j post, consisting of a message laid over a Google Maps screenshot with a location in red.
Sky News has identified five of these accounts in addition to @quercrqfi6j, each trying to incite turnout in cities across the country
While it’s unclear who is behind these accounts, Sky News has identified a Telegram channel which consistently reposts the content published through them.
The channel does so shortly after the TikTok posts are published, despite one account having zero followers and all being difficult to find through search.
This appears to indicate the owner of the channel has knowledge of the network.
From these posts, it appears that a single person or group is using deceptive tactics to replicate the riot in Southport in multiple cities.