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Sir Keir Starmer has told police chiefs to remain “on high alert” after anticipation of more disorder largely failing to materialise on Wednesday.
The prime minister is understood to have told an emergency COBRA meeting that the levels of policing and swift justice in response to the past week’s unrest has “undoubtedly” worked as a deterrent.
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However, a Number 10 source told Sky News that while thanking the police and wider justice system, the PM’s main message was on the need to “maintain high alert”.
COBRA – which stands for Cabinet Office Briefing Room A – is often called in times of emergency, like civil unrest or flooding.
The meeting was the third high-level gathering of its kind following more than a week of violent disorder, which broke out in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
False rumours circulated online about the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, being an asylum seeker – he was actually born in Cardiff.
Wednesday was expected to be the biggest night of trouble so far, with 6,000 specialist officers on standby amid warnings of at least 100 far-right marches being planned.
But the evening passed with “minimal disorder and only a handful of arrests”, according to police chiefs, with thousands of anti-racism campaigners instead taking to the streets.
Some rioters have already been jailed for up to three years as other suspects continue to face court over unrest across the country.
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