About 740 people have been detained in Britain over the past week amid riots, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said.
“Over the past week, approximately 741 arrests have been made and approximately 302 people have been charged in relation to violent disorder,” the council said in a publication on its website.
In late July, mass protests erupted in many cities across Britain after a 17-year-old attacked children with a knife in the town of Southport. Three children were killed, while several other children and two adults were taken to hospital in critical condition.
The protests turned into clashes with police and riots after rumors that the perpetrator of the attack was a refugee. It was later revealed that the attacker was born into a migrant family from Rwanda. Hundreds of people were detained and dozens of police officers were injured in the riots organized by supporters of far-right groups. A number of British media claimed that Russia was allegedly involved in fomenting the protests. The Russian Embassy in London denied all such accusations.
Against the backdrop of the unrest, the British authorities convened the emergency government committee COBRA three times. Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to increase police presence on the streets of British cities, speed up criminal proceedings and prosecute those responsible for inciting riots on social media. The Ministry of Justice said that an additional 500 prison places had been released and 6,000 specialized police officers had been deployed to counter the violence.
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