British PM skips holiday to focus on riot response

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has canceled a planned holiday to focus on his government's response to a series of riots that targeted Muslims and immigrants, a Downing Street source said.

Thousands of police officers remained on duty over the weekend in case violence flared again, though for a fourth day in a row on Saturday, counterprotesters far outnumbered anti-immigration demonstrators in several towns and cities.

The source, who asked for anonymity, said Starmer would no longer be going on holiday this week.

His government has moved quickly to speed up the processing of people arrested and charged in relation to the riots.

On Friday, officials said 741 arrests have been made since the unrest broke out and 302 people had been charged. Police said arrests are likely to continue for months.

On Saturday, the National Police Chiefs' Council, representing police leaders, said specialist officers had been ordered to pursue online offenders and influencers responsible for spreading hate and inciting violence on a large scale.

"Online crimes have real world consequences and you will be dealt with in the same way as those physically present and inflicting the violence," Chris Haward, the council's lead for serious and organized crime, said.

At least two people were jailed in recent days for stirring up racial hatred in messages on social media.

The riots erupted after online posts falsely identified the suspected killer of three girls in a knife attack on July 29 in Southport, England, as an Islamist migrant.

King Charles made an appeal on Friday for mutual respect and understanding and welcomed the way that community groups had countered "the aggression and criminality from a few", a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said.

Agencies Via Xinhua