Latest news with #rioting
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Elite team of cops to monitor anti-migrant social media posts to clamp down on unrest as critics blast ‘disturbing' move
AN elite team of cops will be tasked with monitoring social media for anti-migrant posts. Detectives are being handpicked from forces across the UK to take part in the new programme amid fears of rioting as the small boats crisis escalates. 3 3 The division, overseen by the Home Office, will look to "maximise social media intelligence" gathering after forces were slammed for their response to last year's unrest. Protests outside asylum hotels is continuing to heat up, with crowds gathering yesterday in the likes of Norwich, Leeds and Bournemouth - and more demonstrations planned today. Deputy PM Angela Rayner warned the Cabinet last week that the Government must step in to address "real concerns" about immigration. However, critics have labelled the social media policing plans as "disturbing" and questioned if it further restricts freedom of speech. The National Internet Intelligence Investigations team, will work out of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster. The NPoCC provides the central planning for forces across the UK in terms of "nationally significant protests" and civil disorder. And enforced lockdown rules during the Covid pandemic. Plans for the new unit were spotted in a letter to MPs by Dame Diana Johnson, policing minister. Lucy Connolly fury It comes after Tory councillor Raymond Connolly's wife Lucy was jailed for 31 months after posting comments on her X account just hours after evil Axel Rudakubana murdered three girls in the Merseyside town on July 29 last year. Ms Connolly, 41, shared a call to arms following the deaths of Bebe King, six, nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, last July. 16 arrested after protests outside Epping migrant hotel as ring of steel ramps up around TWO asylum seeker centres Posts wrongly claimed monster Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker when he was actually born in Cardiff and raised Christian. Ms Connelly's punishment sparked fury across the political divide. Furious Brits noted that despite the former child minder quickly deleting her post, she remains in prison while paedos such as Hugh Edwards escaped jail time. Referring to the social media cops, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told the Daily Telegraph: 'Two-tier Keir can't police the streets, so he's trying to police opinions instead. "They're setting up a central team to monitor what you post, what you share, what you think, because deep down they know the public don't buy what they're selling." He added Labour are no longer "pretending" to fix Britain and are now "trying to mute it" - turning the country into a "surveillance state". Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: 'This is the beginning of the state controlling free speech. It is sinister, dangerous and must be fought. Reform UK will do just that.'
Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Times
Repair ‘social fabric' or risk repeat of summer riots, says No 10
Sir Keir Starmer is demanding urgent action from cabinet ministers to avoid a repeat of last summer's rioting after warnings from Downing Street officials that Britain is 'fraying at the edges'. The prime minister told the cabinet it was vital to repair Britain's 'social fabric' and improve integration in areas that have experienced high levels of migration. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, said immigration was having a 'profound impact on society' and warned that to defuse community tensions the government needed to acknowledge 'real concerns' about rapid change, coupled with stagnant living standards. • Southport riot: conflicting advice let misinformation spread, MPs say Alarm has been mounting at the top of government about a violent backlash as frustration over cost of living struggles combines with anger over immigration. Liz Lloyd, Downing Street's executive director of policy and delivery, told a cabinet awayday in June that social cohesion was 'fraying at the edges' and public services were struggling under the strain of increased migration. There are fears of more unrest this year after protests at an asylum hotel in Epping led to the largest outbreak of street violence in England since last summer's riots. Further demonstrations in Essex are planned and Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, warned that Britain was close to 'civil disobedience on a vast scale'. Next week marks the anniversary of the Southport murders that prompted last summer's riots. Starmer told the cabinet it was 'vital' to improve trust and integration. He said efforts to improve school attendance were starting to improve community relations in deprived areas but more needed to be done. Rayner told cabinet that 'economic insecurity, the rapid pace of deindustrialisation, immigration and the impacts on local communities and public services, technological change and the amount of time people were spending alone online', along with 'declining trust in institutions', were having a 'profound impact on society', No 10 said. Rayner said it 'was incumbent on the government to acknowledge the real concerns people have and to deliver improvements to people's lives in their communities'. Sources familiar with Rayner's thinking said she was anxious to 'give people agency and pride in place' to 'reduce anger' in deprived neighbourhoods and avert the risk of further civil unrest. On Thursday an estimated 1,000 people descended on Epping's Bell Hotel, where migrants have been housed since 2020, after Hadush Kebatu, 38, an asylum seeker and Bell resident, was charged with trying to kiss a schoolgirl on the high street. The demonstration became violent as protesters brawled with police and counterprotesters, leading to four arrests. More demonstrations are expected this week and after separate protests outside a migrant hotel in Diss, Norfolk, there are fears that disorder may spiral. Tommy Robinson has suggested he may make an appearance in Epping and other far-right activists appear to be involved. As The Times stood outside the Bell on Monday night, a car filled with young men drove by. One leant out of the window and shouted towards the hotel: 'We're going to kill you all.' • Tony Sewell: We are still failing the white working classes Downing Street sources stressed that work on social cohesion was not in response to unrest in Essex and said the prime minister had been concerned since Southport about the unravelling of 'unwritten rules that hold a nation together'. Starmer fears that social media and school absence, as well as migration, are encouraging people to retreat into 'parallel lives' and was said to regard improving the economy and educational opportunities as crucial to restoring people's sense of fairness. Rayner pointed out that 17 of the 18 areas worst affected by last summer's rioting were among the most deprived in the country, adding that 'while Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the government had to show it had a plan to address people's concerns'. Her plan to 'restore pride' to deprived neighbourhoods and to deal with public anger explicitly warns that growing tensions risk further violent disorder. 'People feel like there are more tensions between immigrants and ethnic groups in society now than in recent years,' reads an outline of the plan published in June. 'Resilience in some of the most disadvantaged communities has been eroded over time, and at its most extreme has opened up the space for the type of disengagement and division that fuelled the violent disorder seen during summer 2024.' In a presentation to ministers at Chequers, Lloyd said public services were struggling under the strain of increased migration. She said: 'Social cohesion is fraying at the edges, as services are unable to keep up with changes in time and migration.' Lloyd said a 'more forceful' policy on law and order would be needed to restore waning trust in the government, as well as public service reform and a 'more active' approach to the economy. In June, Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary and MP for Wigan, warned that the north of England could 'go up in flames', saying a 'real sense of anger' could prompt more civil unrest. Farage has described the Epping protests as a 'a stark warning to this government that the British people will not put up with' high levels of illegal immigration. While he condemned 'far-right thugs' at the protests, he warned Westminster not to 'underestimate the simmering anger and disgust' at the arrival of large numbers of undocumented young men. He added: 'I don't think anybody in London even understands just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale in this country.'
BBC News
15-07-2025
- BBC News
Three men admit rioting in Ely, Cardiff, after e-bike crash deaths
Three men have admitted to rioting following the deaths of two teenagers in an e-bike Sullivan, 16, and his best friend Harvey Evans, 15, died in the crash in Ely, Cardiff, on 22 May disorder which followed continued until the early hours, leaving 31 police officers injured, property damaged and cars Tuesday, Callum O'Sullivan, 24, Jordan Webster, 29, and Jayden Westcott, 20, - who are all from Ely and previously denied rioting - changed their pleas to guilty at Cardiff Crown Court. Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke released the men on bail, with sentencing provisionally set for 22 others appeared before the crown court for a pre-trial review. They were:Jaydan Baston, 20, from Caerau, CardiffZayne Farrugia, 25, from CaerauMcKenzie Danks, 22, from CaerauHarvey James, 19, from Fairwater, CardiffKieron Beccano, 26, from St Fagans, CardiffLee Robinson, 37, from CardiffLuke Williams, 31, from ElyBecause of the number of defendants, the court has split the trial into three, with the seven who appeared on Tuesday expected to be included in the first were released on bail until the trial on 22 second and third trials are planned for 17 November this year and 6 February 2026 respectively.
The Independent
15-07-2025
- The Independent
Three men admit rioting in Cardiff following deaths of two boys
Three men have admitted rioting following the deaths of two teenagers after an e-bike crash. Callum O'Sullivan, 24, Jordan Webster, 29, and Jayden Westcott, 20, have admitted rioting in the Ely area of Cardiff in 2023. Tensions in the area boiled over following the deaths of Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, on the evening of May 22 2023 when they crashed on an e-bike minutes after CCTV captured them being followed by a South Wales Police van. Local people and police at the scene clashed, leading to a riot that lasted several hours, during which time dozens of officers were injured, property was damaged and cars were set alight. The three men, all from the Ely area, previously denied the offence but changed their plea at a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday. Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff, released the men on bail, with sentencing provisionally set for December 22. Seven others appeared before the crown court for a pre-trial review, they are: Jaydan Baston, 20, from Caerau, Cardiff; Zayne Farrugia, 25, from Caerau; McKenzie Danks, 22, from Caerau; Harvey James, 19, from Fairwater, Cardiff; Kieron Beccano, 26, from St Fagans, Cardiff; Lee Robinson, 37, from Cardiff; Luke Williams, 31, from Ely. Because of the number of defendants, the court has split the trial into three, with the seven who appeared on Tuesday expected to be included in the first group. They were released on bail until the trial on September 22. The second and third trials are planned for November 17 this year and February 6 2026 respectively.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
Pekan Nanas school hall brawl: 18 men arrested for rioting with weapons (VIDEO)
KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — Police have arrested 18 men after a brawl broke out at a school hall in Pekan Nanas, Pontian late Friday night. The incident, which occurred around 11.30pm on July 4, was reported by a member of the public who called the Pontian police headquarters. Responding swiftly, officers from the district's Criminal Investigation Division were dispatched to the scene. The suspects, all local men aged between 17 and 48, were apprehended on the spot. They are being investigated under Section 148 of the Penal Code for rioting with weapons, and Section 427 for causing mischief. If found guilty, they face up to five years in prison, a fine, or both under Section 148, and up to two years' jail or a fine under Section 427. The police have stressed they will not compromise when it comes to crimes that threaten public peace and safety. The statement comes as videos of the fight continue to circulate on social media, prompting concern from the public. Authorities have urged the public not to share unverified footage or information related to the case. Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Pontian police hotline at 07-6869999.
