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The home secretary has said prison places “are ready” for the “thuggish minority of criminals” rioting across the UK, ahead of an emergency COBRA meeting today.
Yvette Cooper will hold the emergency meeting of ministers and police chiefs this morning following nearly a week of rioting in cities and towns across the UK.
Hundreds of people have been arrested across the country since last Tuesday. In London last week, 111 people were arrested on one night and in Middlesbrough over the weekend, officers arrested 43 people, with many more in other areas.
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Ms Cooper told Sky News those involved, who have injured police, targeted mosques and asylum seeker hotels, and caused criminal damage, are “a thuggish minority of criminals”.
“They do not speak for our communities,” she said.
“It’s a total disgrace and there has to be a reckoning. Those individuals who are involved in the disorder need to know that they will pay a price.”
Ms Cooper added: “We’ve made sure there are additional prosecutors in place, that there are prisons, that prison places ready, and also that the courts stand ready as well.
“We have made very clear to the police they have our full support in pursuing the full range of prosecutions and penalties, including the serious prison sentences, long term tagging, travel bans and more.”
She vowed “the full range of offenders” – from those who turned up at the last minute to those who carried out arson “will face arrest and a prison cell…in order to make sure they do pay the price for what they have done”.
Several MPs, including from Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have called for parliament to be recalled from its summer recess to deal with the violence.
Former home secretary James Cleverly said the government should have acted quicker and said it is “worrying” they are only holding a COBRA meeting today after six days of rioting.
Over the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer called the riots…
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