Police ‘deal swiftly’ with protesters in London and Hartlepool after previous Southport riot

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Protests over the mass-stabbing that took place in Southport spread to other areas of the country on Wednesday evening. 
Hundreds gathered outside Downing Street, in the centre of London, at 7pm for a rally following the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the Merseyside town on Monday.
In Hartlepool, Co Durham, a number of arrests were made after protesters clashed with riot police in the centre of town as they attempted to march towards a nearby mosque, reports suggest.
In London, the Metropolitan Police issued a warning ahead of the planned rally saying that “any disorder will be dealt with swiftly”, instructing protesters to remain within the immediate vicinity of the Downing Street entrance gate and to leave by 8.30pm. 
The Enough is Enough rally was promoted by Tommy Robinson and actor Laurence Fox as a peaceful demonstration. However, it descended into violence as far-Right protesters clashed with riot police.
Crowds launched flares and bottles towards police shouting chants, including “England til I die” and “we want our country back”. When the protest deadline passed, officers swept in to make dozens of arrests.
Meanwhile in Hartlepool, footage shows lines of riot police forming in the street to face down protesters.
Social media reports claimed protesters hurled missiles at the police on Murray Street, in the centre of town, as they attempted to make their way towards a Mosque in the area.
The Northern Echo reported that men in balaclavas were seen hitting police with wooden bats as waves of protesters clashed with officers.
Jonathan Brash, Hartlepool MP, said he was “deeply concerned” and called for calm as tensions between gathering crowds and officers in riot gear threatened to boil over.
He posted on X, formerly Twitter: “I’m deeply concerned about the situation that is developing in Hartlepool this evening. 
“I will be meeting with police to discuss the response to this incident and would urge calm to allow our emergency services to do their job.
“These events do not represent what Hartlepool is or the values that our people hold. Violence is never the answer.”
It comes after a riot erupted on Tuesday evening in which police vans were torched and more than 50 officers injured when a mob gathered outside a mosque in Southport.
Protesters hurled bricks, masonry and fireworks at officers, amid claims that police were not telling the truth about the suspect’s background and his motives, with rumours swirling on social media.
The force have said the suspect, who was born in Cardiff, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport, following incorrect claims that he was an asylum seeker. 
Police said a name shared on social media in connection with the suspect is “incorrect”, adding: “We would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing.”
A Hartlepool Police spokesman posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Officers remain in the Murray Street area while dealing with disorder after responding to a protest – several arrests have already been made. The road is still closed and people are advised to avoid the area.”
Thank you for tuning in to our live blog of the aftermath of the Southport stabbings. We’ll be back tomorrow to bring you any further updates as they emerge.
Key moments from today:
As darkness descends on Whitehall, 10 arrests were made.
However, a further five protesters were permitted to disperse without being reprimanded.
All of the remaining protesters are to be arrested, a senior police source on the ground has told The Telegraph.
There are approximately 80 men and women remaining on Whitehall.
They are surrounded by police, who the source said plan to arrest them all.
Officers believe they have had sufficient notice to disperse.
The arrests are likely to take some time because of the need to get enough vehicles to the scene to take them all away.
Police officers from around the country have gathered in Southport this evening in preparation for any unrest after riots broke out on Tuesday night.
Elsewhere in Hartlepool, footage shows lines of riot police forming in the street to face down protesters.
Police have now cleared a large area where protesters had been congregating and separated them into smaller groups.
Approximately one hundred protesters remain, down from a peak of several hundred. Those who have left have either done so voluntarily or been arrested.
Officers are periodically rushing in to detain those who remain one at a time.
A section 35 dispersal order of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act is also now in place, meaning protesters must now leave the area.
Another significant number of arrests are now being made.
At least 10 protesters are being walked away from the scene.
The deadline for the protest ending has now passed, meaning those still present are in breach of public order restrictions.
More riot police are pouring into Whitehall, with protesters scuttling to break out as arrests are made.
The wall of officers surrounding the protesters is gradually tightening as groups of two or three riot police rush in to seize individuals and take them away.
The 8.30pm deadline for the protest ending set by police has now been reached.
Riot officers are now moving in and appear poised to divide and trap the protesters, enabling potential arrests.
A large number of protesters have now fled from the scene towards Trafalgar Square after police attempted to trap them behind metal fences.
The police appear to be attempting to separate the crowd into separate groups.
A police helicopter is now flying overhead.
Police appeared to erroneously attempt to arrest Martin Daubney, the GB News presenter.
Footage of the incident shows the broadcaster surrounded by police.
Mr Daubney was released from his cuffs when he presented ID proving he was a member of the press.
The Met Police has been approached for comment.
The protest had quietened down in the last 15 minutes.
A number of influencers present have been filming videos to camera.
But there has suddenly been a bit of pushing back and forth against barriers.
Protest leaders then escaped the police cordon by jumping over a wall, prompting the detention of three demonstrator.
“Stay back now,” officers shouted as they wielded batons.
The Met Police has made multiple arrests close to the Cenotaph on Whitehall.
Video livestreamed from the scene shows multiple people being frog marched away from the scene of the protest by officers dressed in riot gear.
In several instances, protesters appear to have been taken to the floor before handcuffed and led away.
Chants of “Oh Tommy Tommy, Tommy Tommy Tommy Tommy Robinson,” can be heard echoing down Whitehall.
Protest leaders have left the metal barriers, with police making no attempt to stop them walking over directly in front of the Downing Street security gates.
Other demonstrators are also starting to move around more freely.
Police were then deployed to push the leaders back away from the Downing Street gates.
“Save our kids,” the protesters chanted.
The protest — numbering several hundred people — has moved again, this time back towards the cordoned off area directly opposite Downing Street where the Met originally planned to restrict them.
Protest leaders pointed to a cardboard placard reading “we will not be silenced” in red paint which also featured handprints.
Glass bottles were then thrown, to cheers from the crowd, as protesters tried to break out from behind metal barriers. Riot police were deployed to stop them doing so.
Serious violence has just erupted at the protest as demonstrators attempted to push against a line of riot police.
Cans of drink were thrown as scuffles broke out between the demonstrators and riot police.
Crowds are protesting outside Downing Street in London. pic.twitter.com/JsqauAupYC
The protesters are now marching away from outside Downing Street to the Houses of Parliament. 
They have walked down Whitehall and across the road to the front of Parliament.
Chants of “England til I die” have resumed, as well as “we want our country back”.
Crowds are protesting outside Downing Street in London. pic.twitter.com/JsqauAupYC
This is well outside the restricted area set out by the Met.
Officers are attempting to encircle the protesters and keep them away from the front of Parliament.
A pro-Ukrainian protest stands silently on Parliament Square as the demonstrators congregate.
Two pyros have now been thrown towards Downing Street, including one which cleared the security gates.
The man responsible for throwing the pyro was then restrained on the ground by eight officers and taken away.
The crowd proceeded to chant “Oh, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy Tommy Tommy Robinson”.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson has said the “thugs and hooligans” involved in violence in Southport “must be held to account for their actions”.
Dame Diana wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “This is shocking to hear from a chief constable that so many of her officers were injured in the line of duty last night.
“The thugs and hooligans involved must be held to account for their actions on the streets of Southport yesterday.”
The Home Office minister had shared a video clip featuring Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, who told broadcasters that officers who dealt with riots on Tuesday were “some of the first responders who attended that awful scene on Monday and then were faced with that level of violence”.
The Metropolitan Police has vowed that “any disorder will be dealt with swiftly” at a hard-Right protest taking place outside Downing Street in the wake of the murders and subsequent riots in Southport.
Conditions imposed under section 14 of the Public Order Act mean demonstrators taking part in the Enough Is Enough rally in central London at 7pm have to stay within the immediate vicinity of the entrance gate and must leave by 8.30pm.
Any protesters who breach the conditions could be arrested.
The event has been promoted by Tommy Robinson and actor Laurence Fox on X, formerly Twitter.
Supt Neil Holyoak, who is leading the policing of the protest, said: “I urge everyone to exercise their right to protest calmly and within the law. Any disorder will be dealt with swiftly.”
After a day of horror and a night of chaos, the bright, clear sunshine of a new morning showed the humanity of a seaside town.
In Southport on Tuesday, just hours after more than 1,000 people had attended an evening vigil to remember the young victims of a deadly knife rampage at a children’s dance class on Monday, violence swept into this normally safe, cheerful seaside town. Bus-loads of thugs assaulted police officers, intimidated locals, and damaged homes, businesses and a mosque. 
It was, as local artist Tony Wynne puts it, “a disgraceful hijacking of our tragedy, and a failed attempt to divide us”. The largely masked rioters, who scarpered in the small hours, their convoys of vehicles witnessed leaving Southport by sickened residents, had left a trail of ruin down the Sussex Road area. Scorch marks on the pavement where flaming wheelie bins landed; garden walls kicked down to free bricks that could be hurled at the police; cars scratched and dented; a mosque’s windows smashed.
Read the full story here.
The English Defence League (EDL) could be proscribed as a terror organisation in the wake of riots in Southport, Angela Rayner has suggested, writes Charles Hymas.
Supporters of the EDL were blamed for the violence on Tuesday night, in which police officers were attacked with rocks and a police van set on fire.
Ms Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, said: “We have laws and we have proscribed groups and we do look at that and it is reviewed regularly.
“So I’m sure that that will be something that the Home Secretary [Yvette Cooper] will be looking at as part of the normal course of what we do and the intelligence that we have.
“But I think the bigger issue is about taking on the minority of people that have got thuggish behaviour, that actually that’s not our British values.”
Read the full report here.
A Southport resident has started a GoFundMe raising nearly £1,000 to help “restore the safe space” of Muslims after the local mosque was vandalised during raids in the area on Tuesday.
Phoenix Lawson, 20, said: “It is the only mosque in Southport. It is the only place they can pray peacefully and it’s just been destroyed unfortunately.”
“I was informed that three panels of the window of the mosque was destroyed and smashed in, and also the brick wall outside was completely demolished.
“It’s a very unsafe environment for a lot of Muslims now. Friday prayer is two days away and there’s been a massive raid outside the mosque. I don’t think they’re going to want to go there as of now.”
She added the stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday and the riots a day later has been a “big shock” for the Southport community.
“It’s scary. Everything is quiet in Southport nothing really goes on here. You don’t really care about nighttime or robberies but to have three murders and then massive riots to happen in space in two days is a big shock,” she said.
Merseyside Police have condemned the “despicable” actions of protesters for the “disrespect” shown to grieving families and the Southport community.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: “I know the wider community is as shocked as we are about the abhorrent events of last night.“We have been overwhelmed with messages of thanks from the community, and I know I speak on behalf of all those officers there last night when I say how grateful we all are for their support.”She added: “The wanton violence and destruction we saw is the very last thing the people of Southport need having been rocked by the awful events of Monday. The disrespect toward grieving families and the community is despicable, and I want to reassure residents in Southport that we will have a significantly increased police presence in the town in the coming days.“We would appeal to anyone who has information or video footage of those involved in this shocking behaviour to come forward so we can identify and arrest those responsible.” 
Merseyside police have made four arrests after 53 officers were injured in clashes with “despicable” protesters in Southport last night.
Demonstrators swarmed around Southport’s mosque, hurling bottles, bricks and wheelie bins at officers, who huddled behind riot shields in an attempt to diffuse tensions which had boiled over following Monday’s stabbing.
Of those wounded, eight were hospitalised with injuries including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion. Three police dogs were also hurt.
The force has issued an appeal for footage and information after three men were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. A fourth was arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a bladed article.
Officers have been granted enhanced powers to stop and search suspects in the area and to seize items used in acts of anti-social behaviour.
Questions have been raised about why the identity of the teenager arrested over the Southport stabbings has not been made public.
Detectives have been given more time to question the 17-year-old over the incident and he remains in custody after being detained on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. No charges have been brought.
At this stage, the boy has not been identified because of his age amid active ongoing criminal proceedings.
The criminal age of responsibility in England and Wales is 10 years old, meaning children aged between 10 and 17 can be arrested and taken to court if they commit a crime.
The identity of defendants and witnesses under the age of 18 who are subject to criminal proceedings in youth courts is protected by automatic reporting restrictions under Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
If a child is charged with an offence and is facing criminal proceedings in adult courts – magistrates’ and crown courts – then magistrates and judges have legal powers to grant anonymity to a child defendant, witness or victim under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.
Both of these laws ban the press from publishing a child defendant’s name or any detail which could lead to them being identified while the reporting restrictions remain in place.
This is why media reports sometimes say they cannot identify a child involved in a criminal court case for legal reasons.
Serena Kennedy, Merseyside Police Chief Constable, said three people were arrested on Tuesday night.
She said: “Our priority was to try and keep the communities of Southport safe and also to make sure officers remained safe.
“Three arrests were made, however more will follow. It’s impossible to say (how many will be arrested). It’s really early days in the investigation.”
She estimated 200 to 300 people were involved.
She said: “Initially, there were about 70 people who made their way away from the vigil and were making their way towards the mosque.
“They suddenly became about 200 in number and then others joined that number.”
Angela Rayner has criticised social media users spreading “untruths” about the Southport stabbing.
The Deputy Prime Minister made the remarks after the suspect being held in custody over the deaths of three young girls was falsely identified online as an asylum seeker.
Ms Rayner also condemned “disgraceful” scenes in Southport on Tuesday night as hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police, throwing bricks, masonry and fireworks at officers.
Read the full story here.
Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable of Merseyside, said seeing officers’ injuries following the riots in Southport was devastating.
She said the injuries included broken bones, cuts and concussion, but said none of the officers were in critical condition.
Ms Kennedy said: “Being at Southport police station last night and seeing the officers being brought in from the street with their injuries was just devastating.”
She said it was a “fast-moving investigation and it’s progressing well”.
Serena Kennedy, Merseyside Chief Constable, said she understood the communities in Southport were “really worried” about “are we going to see this again tonight”.
She said: “We are absolutely planning for this evening and for the weekend ahead.
“We are being really well supported by police forces across the North West to make sure we have got sufficient resources so that we don’t see a repeat of last night.”
Asked about the resources deployed on Tuesday, Ms Kennedy said: “We were well prepared and had sufficient resources. However, the people who turned up last night were bolstered very quickly and it very quickly escalated and we did have to call on mutual aid.”
The chief constable, who was speaking at the scene of the disorder, said 54 officers were injured, including 49 from Merseyside Police and four from Lancashire.
Steve Rotheram, Metro mayor of Liverpool, said: “What we saw last night was infiltration by people from all over the country, stirred up by social media and then whipped up into a frenzy whereby they were attacking the very people that everybody earlier in the day was celebrating for being the heroes, for running towards danger.
“It leaves a very sour taste in the mouth that these people believe they can come here and divide our community.
“They won’t be doing that and the haters won’t win out.”
He added: “It’s too easy for people with nefarious intent to go online and to say things that aren’t factual and then for people to believe those things and really I think anybody who listens or watches anything online should do it with a large dose of salt.”
The Government must come down “hard and fast” on rioters and online misinformation following clashes in Southport, James Cleverly has said.
The shadow home secretary said: “The violence we have seen in Southport is an insult to the memory of the victims of this heinous attack.
“These are not protesters fighting injustice, they are thugs fighting the police, tearing up a community that is already trying to process an unimaginable horror. They must be met with the full force of the law.
“People will understandably want to know how and why something so awful could have happened, but getting the right answers will take time. While we give the police space and time to do their job, we must have no truck with those spreading disinformation and fuelling conspiracy.
“The police, the Home Secretary and the Government must come down on this hard and fast.
“As home secretary I took a clear and firm stance on protesters and civil disorder, and went to America to ensure the tech companies properly understood that the UK government expected them to step up to stop the spread of disinformation. They must do so now. We all have a duty to honour truth, respect our police, and check before we share.”
Nigel Farage should not “stir up these fake news online” about the reasons behind the Southport knife attack, Angela Rayner has said.
The Deputy Prime Minister told LBC Radio that, as an MP, Mr Farage has “a level of responsibility”, “and it’s not to stoke up what conspiracy theories or what you think might have happened”.
“There’s a responsibility to say the police are doing a difficult job, local authorities, all of the services that are on the ground.
“We have a responsibility to hold the community together and say let’s get the facts, and then let’s look at what the actual solutions are and what we can do about the horrific situation that we find ourselves in, not to stir up these fake news online.”
Ms Rayner added that it is “really painful” for people caught up in the trauma to “see online that what’s happened to them is somehow been debated”.
Conor Stringer, Senior Reporter, speaks outside the mosque which was at the centre of a violent riot in Southport last night.
A group of around 100 members of the community are repairing damage to the local mosque following a riot in Southport.
A number of tradesmen have reportedly given their time and resources for free, while a glazing company has also offered free window repairs. 
On The Spot News reports that one of the volunteers said: “We’re fixing the damage that these scumbags did.”
Ibrahim Hussein, the Southport mosque chairman, said: “I would like to thank the police very, very, very much indeed.
“I’m very sorry for the casualties that the police took. They took a very bad beating. I would love to make it better but there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“But I would like to thank them for their support because at one point we thought they (the rioters) were coming in and they were going to burn the place down.”
Mr Hussein said the mosque was open and added: “I will pray for the whole of Southport, I will pray for the victims of the awful attack on Monday, I will pray for the police and I will pray for the whole community to stay as beautiful as it has always been.”
He said the Muslim community still felt vulnerable, adding he had seen messages the day before indicating something was going to happen.
Detectives have been granted more time to question the 17-year-old arrested on suspicion of the knife attack in Southport.
The teenager, who has not been named because of his age, remains in custody having been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder following a knife attack in which three young girls were killed.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six were fatally stabbed in Southport on Monday while attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Eight other children suffered knife wounds and five are in a critical condition, alongside two adults who were also critically injured.
After the first 48 hours, police can apply for permission from magistrates to hold a suspect for up to a total of 96 hours without charge.
Ibrahim Hussein, Southport mosque chairman, said he was trapped in the building with about eight others as the riot erupted in Southport on Tuesday.
He said he only escaped at about midnight with a police guard. Mr Hussein told reporters on Wednesday: “It was terrifying. It was absolutely, awful, horrendous.
“We couldn’t understand this viciousness that was going on, and even the police were taking a hammering from this lot.”
Asked if he thought the far-Right had hijacked his town, Mr Hussein said: “Naturally. This is a beautiful town.
“We’ve lived here 30 years, no bother at all. We love this community. The community loves us. We don’t have any issues.”
He added of the disorder on Tuesday night: “I’m feeling drained. Where did that come from and why and what has this got to do with us?”
A card signed from the local police which was left among floral tributes in Southport read: “Keep dancing, keep smiling, beautiful angels. In our thoughts. Local policing team.”
Farnborough Road School has paid tribute to their former student Elsie Dot Stancombe near the scene in Southport. A message from the school read: 
“It has always been a pleasure to have Elsie as part of our school.
“From her nursery days being carried on Dad’s shoulders into the playground, she was a girl with a super, beaming smile. 
“Elsie loved life, school and her friends. Her eyes lit up when she spoke. 
“Elsie was such a determined young lady who loved to please. 
“She was a kind and caring friend to all the children in her class and was always there to look after anyone who was upset. 
“She loved performing, singing, dancing and loved being on the stage.
“She was adored by her friends and known by everyone in school due to the sparkle in her eyes, her infectious energy and charismatic personality. 
“It is difficult to put into words how amazing Elsie was and the impact she had on those around her.
“We will miss you, Elsie. You were one of a kind. You will always be a Farnborough girl.”
Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s former first minister, has called for the English Defence League (EDL) to be proscribed under terrorism laws following the riot in Southport.
Merseyside Police said they believe the group, which threw bricks at a mosque in the seaside town following a knife attack which killed three girls on Monday, was made up of EDL supporters.
In a letter to Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, Mr Yousaf claimed “Britain has a far-Right problem”, urging her to use anti-terrorism powers to make membership of the group illegal.
“It is time we took on the English Defence League and the evil ideology that drives them,” he wrote.
“One of the immediate steps, in your gift as Home Secretary, is to proscribe the English Defence League, and their proxies, under the Terrorism Act 2000.”
He added that such action would not provide an “overnight fix”, but would demonstrate the Government’s intention to be “proactive in tackling far-Right violence and terror that has been allowed to run rampant in the streets of the UK for far too long”.
The Green Party has condemned the rioting by “fascist thugs” in Southport.
Amanda Onwuemene, the party’s spokesperson for policing and domestic safety, said: “The far-Right is using disinformation around the horrific murders of children in Southport to do what it always does: spread hatred and fear.
“The attacks on a mosque and police by fascist thugs yesterday are an appalling violation of a community that has already suffered a devastating blow.
“The Green Party condemns this violence and stands in solidarity with the people of Southport against those who seek to divide it.”
A mob of hundreds of people in Southport used the “death of three little kiddies” for their “own political purposes”, the MP for the Merseyside town has said.
Patrick Hurley accused “beered-up thugs” of disrespecting the families of three girls, aged six, seven and nine, who were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on Monday.
Around 200 protesters clashed with police in Southport on Tuesday night, damaging cars in a mosque car park and hurling bricks, fireworks and masonry at police officers.
Read the full story here.
A mother and child lay floral tributes for the victims of the knife attack in Southport.
The mother of a victim in the Southport stabbing has condemned violence that broke out at a protest last night.
A mob gathered outside a mosque on Tuesday following a knife attack on children attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club where three young girls were killed, with demonstrators throwing bricks, masonry and fireworks at officers.
Jenni Stancombe, the mother of seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, who died on Monday, appealed on social media for the violence to end. She said: “The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.” Ms Stancombe added: “This is the only thing that I will write, but please stop the violence in Southport tonight.”
A 17-year-old youth from the village of  Banks, five miles away from Southport was arrested on Monday afternoon on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remains in police custody. The violence broke out amid claims that the police were not telling the truth about the suspect’s background and his motives, with rumours swirling on social media.
Earlier, a vigil was held to remember the three girls who were killed with six-year-old Bebe King and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar also named as victims.
Violent protests broke out in Southport last night as hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police following a knife attack on children attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Smoke billowed from the scene after a police van was set on fire and a number of officers were injured.
Angela Rayner has criticised social media users for spreading “untruths” online over the Southport knife attack after riots broke out in the town overnight.
Riots erupted outside a mosque on Tuesday after three young girls were killed while attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Patrick Hurley, the MP for Southport, blamed misinformation on social media for violent scenes in which demonstrators threw bricks, masonry and fireworks at officers in his constituency.
The suspect in the attack had previously been falsely identified online as an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK in a small boat, while unsubstantiated claims circulated that he was on an MI6 watch-list.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning Ms Rayner said: “I think there’s been a couple of instances recently where, especially particularly online, where theories and things are whipped up, whereas actually it turns out to be not true or not the full picture.”
She added: “Speculation and some of the untruths that have been put around social media, not only create tensions and fear in the community, but it’s disrespectful to families who maybe want those answers that haven’t got those answers.”
She added that it is “really unhelpful for the police” and “my plea is that we all need to step back and just wait and then that information will come but allow the police to do their work”.
Jess Phillips has accused Nigel Farage of “grifting” in a row over his response to the Southport killings.
The Reform leader claimed in a social media video that important questions about the deadly knife attack on children at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club remained unanswered. Mr Farage speculated whether the “truth is being withheld” about the killing of three girls aged six, seven and nine, following social media rumours.
Ms Phillips, a minister at the Home Office, accused Mr Farage of acting in bad faith after he missed a statement by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, in the Commons on Tuesday.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Phillips said: “Nigel Farage could yesterday have had the questions, he claims are unanswered, answered, if he had bothered to turn up to Parliament and ask them during the statement on the incidents in Southport. He didn’t turn up, he grifted instead.”
Read the full story here.
Local business owners have said riots are the “opposite of what Southport is about” as they deliver free coffee to those cleaning up after the riots. 
Gavin Williams, 37 and James Kennedy, 37, owners of Cove coffee shop, arrived at the mosque giving out free coffee. 
“The Cove is all about wellness and community, it’s the least we could do,” said Mr Williams. 
“It’s horrendous, absolutely horrendous. It’s just not what the community is about at all, it’s the opposite of what Southport is about.
“It was just harrowing to see that mum put that post out calling for calm. To feel the need to do that when she’s grieving, it’s just horrendous.”
Jenni Stancombe, the mother of seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, who died on Monday, appealed on social media for the violence to end. 
An injured police officer is seen with blood on his face after a riot broke out in Southport on Tuesday.
Nigel Farage said “it’s perfectly reasonable to ask what is happening to law and order” in response to criticism from Brendan Cox.
The husband of murdered MP Jo Cox told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the Reform UK leader “whipped up” rioters in Southport in a social media video.
Mr Farage said in response: “[That’s an] absolutely disgraceful comment, [I did] nothing of the kind.
“I merely expressed a sense of sadness and concern that is being felt by absolutely everybody I know – what the hell is going on? It started off the week before in Kent, when a Lieutenant Colonel in full military uniform is stabbed in the street and I was told that Kent Police wanted to play the incident down. I got that on the highest level.
“So I think it’s quite legitimate to ask questions as to what the hell is going on.
“And then of course we had Southend at the same time with machete gangs fighting in the streets… I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask what is happening to law and order in our country. And who are the perpetrators? Why? Very legitimate questions I was asking, and to conflate that with EDL or anybody else, frankly, it’s desperate stuff.”
Asked about Mr Cox saying he is “nothing better than Tommy Robinson in a suit”, the Clacton MP added: “The comment is beneath contempt.”
Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, said: “The fact that Nigel Farage whipped up that crowd, whipped up that sentiment, I think should make us all reconsider in what basket we put him.
“For me, it puts him on the wrong side of the line, not a credible politician, but someone willing to use awful events and hatred and undermine the community, the communities in which we live.”
Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, has said Nigel Farage is “nothing better than Tommy Robinson in a suit” after his comments about the Southport stabbings.
In a social media video, Mr Farage said: “I obviously join everybody in my horror at what has happened. I know the Prime Minister went to lay flowers and was heckled, and it shows you how unhappy the public are with the state of law and order in our country.
“I have to say there are one or two questions. Was this guy being monitored by the security services? Some reports say he was, others less sure.
“The police say it’s a non-terror incident, just as they said the stabbing of an Army Lieutenant Colonel in uniform on the streets of Kent the other day was a non-terror incident.
“I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don’t know the answer to that, but I think it is a fair and legitimate question.”
Reacting to the comments, Mr Cox told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s right out of the Trump playbook, and in my view it makes Nigel Farage nothing better than a Tommy Robinson in a suit.
“It is beyond the pale to use a moment like this to spread your narrative and to spread your hatred, and we saw the results on Southport’s streets last night.”
Tobias Ellwood, the former MP, has accused Nigel Farage of deliberately enflaming tensions after the Southport stabbings.
Replying to the Reform UK leader’s video commenting on the attack, which was posted on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: “I lost my brother to terrorism.
“To ramp up hatred online by claiming the Southport attack was terrorist related (culminating in riots, a mosque damaged and 27 police injured) is not just reprehensible but needs addressing. Otherwise it will happen again.
“Disgusted how a sitting MP deliberately enflames tensions without any justification.
“Farage should delete this tweet.”
A shopkeeper whose store was targeted by looters described the riot in Southport as a “war scene”. 
Chanaka Balasuriya, 47, said protesters stole around £10,000 worth of cigarettes and alcohol. He said it was “terrible” to helplessly watch thieves break into his shop on CCTV, which he has owned for four years.
Mr Balasuriya said: “I called 999 and asked for help. They said they would try their best to come and help. It took 10-12 minutes for them to break the glass. 
“They came as a group. They tried quite hard and then the glass broke. Then they tried to break the shutters. Then I saw my cardboard bin, it was set on fire. I called 999 again and said ‘listen, there’s a lady upstairs, please come and help’. 
“Unfortunately my kids were lolling as well, they were screaming and crying. This is my everything. It was like a war scene last night.”
Sir Andy Marsh, College of Policing Chief Constable, has paid tribute to the victims of the Southport attack and called the subsequent riots “disgusting”.  He said: 
“The horrific act of violence in Southport has left families grieving and a whole community in a state of total shock. My thoughts remain with all those affected. I cannot begin to imagine what they will be going through at this time. Their grief must be at the forefront of our minds and in our thoughts.
“Last night we witnessed disgusting scenes where a minority of thugs chose to use this appalling tragedy to bring violence to the streets of a devastated community. They attacked a place of worship where people find solace and they injured my colleagues, the very same officers who would likely have responded to this incident just hours before.
“I’m very grateful to the officers who dealt with this inexcusable violence and to those from surrounding forces who provided mutual aid. They want to be in their communities supporting people to deal with the aftermath of this attack – they do not deserve to be pelted with bricks by mindless thugs. I know Merseyside Police will be providing them with support and I wish those injured a speedy recovery.
“Above all I continue to hold the families involved in this unspeakable tragedy in my thoughts.”
A man was hit in the privates by a brick which was thrown toward police officers during riots in Southport. 
Dozens of residents turned up outside Southport mosque with brushes and shovels to help with the clean-up operation on Wednesday morning.
Norman Wallis, chief executive of Southport Pleasureland, who was helping at the junction of Sussex Road and St Luke’s Road, said it was partly in response to a social media plea he put out after witnessing the violence on Tuesday evening.
Mr Wallis said: “There are hundreds of people who have responded, and we’ve ended up with lots of people down here today, all from the local community and helping with the fantastic clean-up.”
He added: “It’s horrendous what those hooligans have done last night. It was like a war scene. People from out of town just causing absolute mayhem.
“People in hoods climbing up lampposts, throwing bricks, they set a police car on fire. But none of those people were the people of Southport. The people of Southport are the ones here today cleaning the mess up.
“Those people from out of town – they came in in buses and cars and had change of clothes. They just started to riot and do this.”
Dozens of police have been injured in violent clashes after a mob of protesters gathered outside a mosque in Southport, hurling bricks, masonry and fireworks at officers.
Footage of the protest posted on social media showed a police van engulfed in flames, as demonstrators attacked officers who hurdled together with riot shields.
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Luis Montenegro, the Portuguese prime minister, has sent his condolences to the families of victims in the Southport attack.
Mr Montenegro said: “It is with deep sadness that I received the news on the attack that took place yesterday in Southport in the United Kingdom, for which I have no words to describe.
“On my behalf and that of the Portuguese government I express heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the British government and people.”
A spokesman for the Madeiran regional government said in a statement yesterday: “It was with great sadness that the Regional Government of Madeira learned of the death of nine-year-old Alice Aguiar, the daughter of Madeirans, following the attack on a dance centre in Southport, UK.
“The Regional Government, through the Regional Directorate for Communities and External Cooperation (DRCCE), sends a heartfelt hug to the parents and its deepest condolences to the bereaved family.”
Alice Aguiar’s heartbroken parents are “not speaking, only crying” after the stabbing in Southport on Monday, according to relatives.
Graca Freitas, the child’s aunt whose brother David is Alice’s father, said: “We’re constantly calling and David picks up.
“But he only cries, he doesn’t talk. It’s the same with his wife.”
Admitting she still hadn’t come to terms with what had happened, Ms Freitas told a local paper in her native Madeira where Alice’s parents migrated to the UK from: “I found out about the scale of the tragedy on Monday from the TV.
“But I only found out about Alice yesterday morning.
“I began to cry uncontrollably. I’m in agony.”
Last night a vigil was held to remember the three girls who were killed in Southport on Monday.
Six year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar were stabbed to death while attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Prime Minister “got the tone absolutely right” in his response to the Southport attacks.
The former Conservative MP, who lost his seat at the general election, told Times Radio the unrest on Tuesday night was a “perverse” response to the tragedy.
“I actually think the Prime Minister got the tone absolutely right yesterday talking about just how upsetting this is,” Sir Jacob said.
“He spoke as a father and anyone as a father just mourns so deeply when you see those pictures of those three little children who were just so brutally murdered. The idea that anyone would want to respond to it by rioting seems to me to be perverse.”
Declining to criticise his GB News colleague Nigel Farage, who leads Reform and questioned whether the truth about the stabbings was being “withheld”, Sir Jacob said: “We obviously have to wait and see what all the information is.
“I think jumping to conclusions on what has happened until one knows is not wise. I’m not going to jump to conclusions. This is just the most awful tragedy and this is a time for mourning the dead and mourning the victims.”
Violence flared in Southport last night when hundreds of demonstrators, believed to be supporters of the English Defence League, hurled bricks at police after converging on a mosque and smashing its windows.
It comes after false information spread online about the alleged identity of a 17-year-old arrested for stabbing three children to death at a dance class in the town.
Footage shows a residential road in the aftermath of riots in Southport. 
A mob gathered outside a mosque on Tuesday following a knife attack on children attending a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club where three young girls were killed, with demonstrators throwing bricks, masonry and fireworks at officers.
Police officers should be going home, not to hospital, the Chair of Merseyside Police Federation has said. 
Chris McGlade, Chair of Merseyside Police Federation, said: “The very same courageous officers who are themselves trying to come to terms with what has happened in Southport this week came under a sustained and vicious attack last night.
“It is utterly disgusting that more than 50 police officers were injured. Brave colleagues have been left with fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion.
“I utterly condemn the actions of these mindless and violent thugs – and they will be brought to justice for their actions.
“Police officers are not robots. We are mothers and fathers. Sons and daughters. Husbands, wives and partners.
“We should be going home at the end of our shifts. Not to hospital.”
Patrick Hurley, the MP for Southport, said police intelligence suggested the “vast majority” of those responsible for violence last night were “from out of town”.
In an interview with Times Radio, the new Labour MP condemned the violence targeted against police as 39 officers were injured and 27 taken to hospital.
“The issue is that the police they were attacking last night, the police vans they were attacking, they were the very same first responders and the very same emergency services that had gone through possibly the most traumatic day of their entire lives the day before when they had to deal with the immediate aftermath of the little girls being killed.”
Responding to Sir Keir Starmer being heckled when he visited to pay his respects, he said: “There’s not a single thing that the Prime Minister, that Keir Starmer, has done in the last three weeks where he’s been in the role that has led to the stabbings that we saw on Monday.
“There’s not a single thing that a person in a position of authority has done that anyone can justify being called ‘liars’ and ‘traitors’ and all of these things on social media. This is a swirling morass on social media of lies and propaganda and people being given the platform to say the most vile of things in the most vile of circumstances.”
The MP for Southport has blamed misinformation on social media for violent scenes in the town last night, saying fake news about the killing of three girls had a “real world impact”.
Russian state media were among those falsely identifying the suspect as an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat last year.
Asked why violent protests broke out, Patrick Hurley told Times Radio: “Precisely because of the propaganda and the lies that were being spread around on social media from within minutes of the news breaking on Monday afternoon.
“We’d had all sorts of lies being spread and misinformation being spread about the alleged perpetrator and some people with the best of intentions, then they try to rebut this they tried to argue back, but all that happens is you’re just amplifying people’s false messaging.
“And what we saw then 24 hours from Monday afternoon to yesterday afternoon, this misinformation doesn’t just exist on people’s internet browsers and on people’s phones, it has real world impact.
“The real impact of that was we had hundreds of people descending on the town, descending on Southport, intent on causing trouble, either because they believe what they have written, or they are bad faith factors who wrote it in the first place intent on causing community division.”
Matthew Pennycook, a housing minister, labelled violent scenes in Southport overnight “absolutely appalling” and “completely despicable”. 
The Labour frontbencher told Sky News: “We have had 22 officers now injured, seen reports of vehicles belonging to members of the public set on fire, bricks and fireworks thrown at a mosque. 
“I think it is absolutely appalling if I am honest. 
“The community in Southport is reeling from the horrific events two days ago. From what I can see they are trying to come together to support each other, to care for the families of the loved ones who have been killed and to have their space for them to process the trauma, to grieve, overshadowed by this violence and disorder I think is completely despicable.”
A Labour MP has called the rioters outside a mosque in Southport “utterly reprehensible”. 
Patrick Hurley, the Labour MP for Southport, told BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: “The town is reeling. You can imagine that yesterday was a very emotional day for so many people in Southport. We had a vigil with thousands of people paying their respects in a peaceful fashion and just having a space and a place where they can express their emotions.”
He added: “And then within an hour, an hour and a half, we also had this horrific riots. There’s no other word to describe it. It was led by people from outside of town. These were thugs who got the train in. These were not people from Southport. They were using the deaths of three little kiddies for their own political purposes and to attack the very same first responders and the very same police who had been on the scene on Monday.”
Mr Hurley added: “There’s no way to describe that other than to say it’s utterly reprehensible and we must identify these people and make sure that the full force of the law is down against them.”
Residents commence clean-up operation in Southport following riots last night.
Councillor Mike Salmon, who saw the violence happening outside his home on Tuesday, told BBC Radio Merseyside several people arrived at the scene wearing “masks and balaclavas”.
He said: “A few hours ago there were lots of people arriving down my road. Many of them were wearing masks and balaclavas. They were all walking down the road and congregating on the corners. Within minutes I heard a loud bang, I think someone had thrown a brick at the mosque.
He added: “And then they charged at the police. I was really really worried for the police, they needed more support.”
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) says it will “stand firm” against “forces of hatred and division” in the wake of a riot outside a Southport mosque.
The MCB paid tribute to the three young girls killed in Southport on Monday, before condemning “shocking scenes of far-Right rioters running amok outside a mosque”.
It said Islamaphobic backlash began with a false rumour on the internet which was then stoked by misinformation from a Russian news site, which wrongfully associated the crime with Muslims.
Zara Mohammed, the MCB secretary-general, said: “At a time of great tragedy, loss, and mourning, we must stand firm against the cynical forces of hatred and division. This does not represent our diverse Britain and the people of Southport.
“The Government must address the increasing rise of violent far-Right extremism targeting Muslim communities. More must be done to tackle Islamophobia and offer reassurance at this time.”
She added: “We commend the authorities for their swift action, and our prayers are with the mosque, the families of the victims of yesterday’s attack, and the local community.”
A Labour frontbencher has condemned the “absolutely appalling” violence in Southport last night.
A mob gathered outside a mosque and hurled bricks, masonry and fireworks at police officers, with 39 officers injured and 27 taken to hospital.
Matthew Pennycock, the housing minister, told Times Radio: “The people of Southport are obviously reeling from the horror that was inflicted upon them two days ago, they’re doing their best to pull together, to have the process the space they need.
“To have that overshadowed by the violence and disorder is sickening… They should feel the full force of the law.”
Asked what message he would send to those minded to take part in further violence, Mr Pennycock said: “Well, not to do it, to give the community the space to grieve, to process the trauma they’ve experienced. I think the community needs that space, it doesn’t need violence and disorder, and from what we can tell lots of people who don’t even live in Merseyside coming in and trying to stir up trouble.”
Welcome to our live blog where we will be bringing you the latest updates following the knife attack in Southport on Monday. 
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