UK braced for unrest after Southport killings

Extra force deployed as mosques remain on heightened state of alert

LONDON:

British police will be out in force across the country this weekend and mosques are tightening their security following rioting and other violent incidents since Monday's killing of three children in northwest England, officials said.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of the girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the normally quiet seaside town of Southport, the northeastern town of Hartlepool, London.

Violent incidents erupted in Southport and elsewhere in reaction to false information that spread rapidly on social media, claiming the suspect in the stabbings was a radical Muslim migrant. Police, however, have emphasised that the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, was born in Britain.

But more than a dozen demonstrations by anti-immigration protesters are planned across the UK this weekend, including in the vicinity of at least two mosques in Liverpool. Several counter-protests by those opposing racism are also planned.

Mosques across the country will also be on a heightened state of alert, reviewing procedures for fire safety, security camera surveillance and protecting entrances and exits, Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) Secretary General Zara Mohammed said.

Mohammed said that representatives from hundreds of mosques agreed to strengthen security measures at a briefing on Thursday. Many at the meeting also reported concerns for the safety of the worshippers after receiving threatening and abusive phone calls.

British police chiefs had agreed to deploy officers in large numbers over the weekend to deter any violence. "We will have surge capacity in our intelligence, in our briefing, and in the resources that are out in local communities," Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, told BBC Radio.

Police in Southport, where hundreds of anti-immigration protesters attacked police, set vehicles alight and hurled bricks at a mosque on Tuesday evening, said they were aware of planned protests and had "extensive plans and considerable police resources" on hand to deal with any disorder.

"I want our communities to be assured that we are fully prepared to deal with anyone intent on causing disorder," said Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims of Merseyside Police, the force that oversees Southport.

Police in Northern Ireland also said they were planning a "proportionate policing response" after learning of plans by various groups to block roads, stage protests and march to an Islamic Centre in Belfast over the weekend.