Starmer establishes national policing unit to address violence after Southport attack

Newly-appointed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged police officials to take every possible action to address the violent situation in the country following the devastating Southport attack on Monday.

The Prime Minister announced the creation of a new national policing unit to manage such violent conditions on British streets, particularly those led by far-right “thugs.”

"We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe," Starmer stated. "The police force will work together to handle this situation."

Condemning the attackers' actions as those of a "tiny, mindless minority" and denouncing "far-right hatred," Starmer emphasized, "These thugs are mobile; they move from community to community, and we must have a police response that can do the same."

In his televised speech, Starmer also criticized "violent disorder, clearly whipped up online," labeling it as a crime, "not protest."

These remarks came shortly after the suspect was identified as Alex Muganwa Rudakubana, a UK-born individual.

Additionally, the Prime Minister announced that the government will introduce technology to identify those involved in inappropriate activities. "To restrict the movement of individuals involved in inappropriate activities, they will rely on intelligence sharing and facial recognition technology," Starmer said.

Addressing attacks on mosques, Starmer stated, "Mosques being attacked because they're mosques – the far-right are showing who they are. We have to show who we are in response to that."

In this regard, the Muslim Council of Britain called for additional measures to protect mosques from frequent attacks. "Additional actions should be taken to protect the Muslim mosques," the Council urged.