The government has warned Indian citizens to exercise caution while travelling to the U.K., in response to riots across the country following the killing of three children in Southport on July 29.
“Visitors from India are advised to stay vigilant and exercise due caution while travelling in the U.K. It is advisable to follow local news and advisories issued by local security agencies, and to avoid areas where protests are underway,” the High Commission of India in London said in an advisory issued on Tuesday (August 6).
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Far-right protesters have targeted mosques as well as a hotel where asylum seekers are staying, motivated by fake news regarding the identity of the killer (that he was Muslim and an undocumented migrant). Some 400 people have been arrested so far.
The advisory posted on the social media channels of the Indian mission also provides emergency contact information for anyone in need of urgent assistance.
The contact provided for India House at Aldwych, London, in case of an emergency is: +44-2078369147 and inf.london@mea.gov.in.
Birmingham in the north and Plymouth in southern England witnessed the latest scenes of clashes between two sets of protesters overnight on August 5.
A man is in serious condition in hospital after being attacked in a suspected hate crime in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and police officers were attacked with bricks in Darlington, northern England. The British government said it has accelerated its plans to deal with prison capacity to ensure sufficient space for an expected rise in prisoners due to rioting after hundreds of arrests have been made.
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“I think we have seen serious acts of violence designed to cause terror to a section of our community,” Neil Basu, the former head of counter-terrorism policing, told the BBC.
Mr. Basu also blamed social media companies for not taking tough enough action to clamp down on misinformation and said “we should be appealing” to advertisers to cut the funding of social media giants if responsibility was not exercised.
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are investigating the role of foreign state actors in amplifying misinformation and disinformation about the U.K. riots, including cracking down on automated online bots.
“Clearly we have seen bot activity online, much of which may well be amplified with the involvement of state actors amplifying some of the disinformation and misinformation that we’ve seen,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson, but declined to say which states may be involved.
On August 5 after a high-level COBRA security meeting, Mr. Starmer pledged a “standing army” of specialist officers to stamp out the riots across several cities in the country, which he has termed as “far-right thuggery.” He said: “I’ve asked for the early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved in the process, who will feel the full force of the law.”
Many of his own Labour Party MPs and Opposition members are calling for Parliament to be recalled from its summer recess to debate the issue, but Mr. Starmer has so far insisted the government needs to focus on restoring calm on the streets.
The trigger of the riots lies in Southport, near Liverpool, which was the scene of the stabbing of a group of young children at a Taylor Swift themed dance class on July 29. Axel Rudakubana, 17, who has been charged with three murders and other attempted murders, was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Rwandan parents. However, initial false social media posts claimed he was a refugee who arrived last year on a small boat.
(With PTI inputs)
