Britain’s most senior prosecutor has warned it is ‘deeply disturbing’ to see children as young as 11 taking part in riots across the country.
Stephen Parkinson warned there could be lifelong consequences for young people involved in the violence.
The disorder is feared to stretch into a second week tonight, with more than 2,000 officers on stand-by for up to 30 demonstrations.
More than 400 people have been arrested so far, with terrorism charges considered for at least one suspected thug.
As immigration centres braced themselves for unrest, the war of words deepened between Sir Keir Starmer and Elon Musk yesterday.
The billionaire branded the Prime Minister ‘two-tier Keir’ in a jibe suggesting police were treating far-Right protesters more harshly than Muslims.
His comment came just one day after the Xowner used the platform to claim that ‘civil war is inevitable’ in the UK – sparking a rebuttal from Downing Street.
An 11-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during a protest in Hartlepool last week
Riotofficers on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest last week
A police officer clashes with a young protestor outside a hotel in Rotherham on Sunday
Police in riot gear face off with protesters in Whitehall last week
Protesters taunt police in riot gear during a demonstration in Manchester on Saturday
Anti-migration protesters riot outside of the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on Sunday
Residential properties and businesses attacked on a street in Middlesbrough on Monday
Stephen Parkinson (pictured) warned there could be lifelong consequences for young people involved in the violence
Yesterday Mr Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, said: ‘One of the most striking features of the current outbreak of disorder is that many young people are involved. Children as young as 11. This is deeply disturbing.’
He warned they risked lifelong consequences including criminal records which could hamper job prospects and the ability to travel abroad.
Mr Parkinson added: ‘Justice is coming for those who have rained chaos on their local streets.’
His comments came as a 14-year-old pleaded guilty to violent disorder after he was caught with a gang shooting fireworks at a crowd.
A 15-year-old boy, who appeared in court yesterday, admitted throwing a paving slab at a man’s head during riots in Liverpool.
Another 15-year-old boy was last night charged after riots broke out in Northern Ireland on Monday night.
Amid fears of further unrest today, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper urged counter-protesters to stay at home and ‘let the police do their jobs’.
Anti-immigration protesters hold Union Jacks on Weymouth seafront. A counter demo by Stand Up To Racism gathered at the same location further down
Young men, some in masks, gathered outside a McDonald's in Bordesley Green, Birmingham amid rumours of a far-right gathering yesterday
A man looks out of The Holiday Inn hotel in Rotherham as counter demonstrators stand outside with signs saying 'refugees welcome'
Serious violence and rioting by far-right protesters in side streets in Rotherham
A young man throws a brick at lines of police in Liverpool, as riots in the city close to the Southport stabbing turned violent on Saturday
Police officers stand near the broken windows of the hotel during an anti-immigration protest
A car burns after being overturned during an anti-immigration protest in Middlesbrough on Sunday
A bin is chucked towards a fire as a group of far right protesters gather in Rotherham on Sunday
Counter-protesters push against the police cordon on the day of a protest against illegal immigration in Bolton on Sunday
Footage and images of protests over the past week have seen a number of children in attendance, sometimes with their parents.
The warning from the CPS' director of public prosecutions comes as:
- The PM moved to assure people they ‘will be safe’ on the streets, despite a ‘difficult situation’ with simultaneous disorder across the country
- It emerged 2,200 specialist riot officers are on standby
- An armchair thug, 28, from Leeds became the first convicted of stirring up racial hatred online
- It emerged terrorism charges have been considered for at least one protester
- Elon Musk labelled Sir Keir Starmer ‘Two-tier Keir’ in a jibe suggesting police were treating far-right protesters more harshly than Muslims
- Officers in Birmingham were forced to defend their tactics after failing to stop a gang of masked Muslims attacking a pub
- Officers in South Yorkshire said 51 officers had been injured during an attack on a hotel housing migrants in Rotherham on Sunday
- Police warned far-right thugs mistakenly shared the address of an elderly person’s home as the site of a protest
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Kate Osborne, Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, said: ‘It is disturbing to see young kids on the streets chanting racist slogans, calling people names, and worrying that their parents think it’s okay to indoctrinate their kids this way.’
The Prime Minister chaired the second COBRA meeting in two days yesterday as forces across the country braced for an eighth night of violence. Sir Keir said afterwards he is expecting ‘substantive sentencing’ for those taking part in the unrest ‘before the end of this week’.
Asked what he would say to worried communities, he replied: ‘They will be safe. We’re doing everything we can to ensure that where a police response is needed, it’s in place. Where support is needed for particular places, that is in place.’
He added: ‘Obviously it’s a difficult situation with disorder going on in a number of different places at the same time [but] do have adequate police in place. We are able to cope with this disorder.’
Mr Parkinson said he would continue to prosecute people for online offences related to the violence, including those based abroad. He added: ‘It is important to note that people do not even have to be directly involved to commit crimes – inciting violence from your computer is also an offence.
‘Some people are abroad. That doesn’t mean they’re safe. We have liaison prosecutors spread around the globe [and] police are also stationed abroad.’
Justice minister Heidi Alexander said yesterday courts could sit through the night and at weekends to process rioters swiftly.
The additional courts protocol, created in the aftermath of the 2011 riots, could be used in areas where police and prosecutors feel necessary.
Police officers detain a man on the day of an anti-immigration protest in Bolton on Sunday
A car is vandalised as far-right activists hold a demonstration in Middlesbrough on Sunday
A phone shop and a kiosk at the Liverpool One shopping complex were damaged, broken into and looted
In Hull, a Shoezone was pictured with smashed windows and a raging fire inside, while a Greggs and a Specsavers had also been targeted by men with face coverings throwing stones
The additional courts protocol, created in the aftermath of the 2011 riots, could be used in areas where police and prosecutors feel necessary. Some 567 additional prison spaces could be used for offenders, she added.
Scotland Yard said the force was aware of events planned by ‘hateful and divisive groups’ in London tonight.
The disorder follows the fatal stabbings of three schoolgirls at a holiday club in Southport, Merseyside, last week.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
