In response to the ongoing violent clashes raging the UK, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to bring the “full force of the law” against those involved, while the government announced plans to create over 500 new prison places to ensure swift incarceration of those convicted, BBC reports.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Starmer declared the violence was “not protest – it is violent disorder and needs to be treated as such, as criminal activity.”
Justice Minister Heidi Alexander echoed this sentiment, stating that “anyone who is given a custodial sentence as a result of the riots and disorder, there will be a prison place waiting for them.” To accommodate this, 567 additional prison places will be made available, including new cells at HMP Stocken and Rutland, and additional spaces at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution in Kent for adult prisoners.
The Ministry of Justice will also expedite fire safety works in other prisons to create more usable space. This announcement comes just three weeks after the introduction of measures to release some prisoners early due to prison overcrowding.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has confirmed that some of the most serious offenders will face terrorism charges, and his team is considering seeking extradition of social media influencers suspected of inciting the violence from abroad. Parkinson stressed that offenders “must know that they are not safe and there is nowhere to hide”.
To ensure swift justice, courts in affected areas might begin holding sessions in the evenings, nights, and weekends.
The unrest, which has persisted for almost a week, followed the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport and has been fueled by online misinformation, far-right ideology, and anti-immigration sentiment.
