Starmer says UK 'on high alert' for more far-right rallies

LONDON:

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned Friday that authorities must "stay on high alert" for more far-right riots, as a court issued the first jail sentence for online incitement during the recent disorder.

Starmer's comments followed consecutive nights of relative quiet across England, after a week of near daily unrest in more than a dozen places after a deadly knife attack that killed three children.

Disturbances have continued unabated in Northern Ireland, however, where police have blamed pro-UK loyalist paramilitaries for fuelling nightly violence in Belfast.

Starmer was speaking during a visit to the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police.

"Swift justice" dispensed on rioters by the courts in recent days had acted as a deterrent to more disorder in English towns and cities, he said. "I'm absolutely convinced that having the police officers in place these last few days, and the swift justice that has been dispensed in our courts have had a real impact," he told UK broadcasters.