UK Creates Special Police Force to Tackle Riots Amid Russia-Linked Misinformation Campaign

UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, announced the creation of a "standing army" of specialist police officers to fight the riots and disorder that have recently rocked the country.

“We will have a standing army of specialist public duty officers so that we will have enough officers to deal with this where we need them,” Starmer said, adding “We will ramp up criminal justice. There have already been hundreds of arrests, some have appeared in court this morning.”

The anti-migrant riots were driven in part by misinformation on social media, which was spread by a Russian-linked news outlet. After a stabbing at a dance class in Southport, where 3 girls were killed and many injured, false rumors spread online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum-seeker.

According to the National Police Chiefs’ Council, over 375 individuals have been arrested amid the chaos, with additional arrests anticipated.

Cassia Rowland, a senior researcher at the Institute for Government think tank, highlighted the hurdles facing Starmer’s plan to strengthen the criminal justice system and expedite justice. She noted that the courts are already overwhelmed and prisons are so overcrowded that there were plans to release inmates early.

Starmer has rejected suggestions to reconvene Parliament or deploy the army to address the riots. His office stated that the police are equipped to deal with the crisis.

Additionally, Starmer’s office criticized Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), for his response to footage of the violence, in which he stated, “Civil war is inevitable.”

“There’s no justification for comments like that,” the spokesperson said. “We’re talking about a minority of thugs who don’t speak for Britain.”