British Prime Minister Starmer Tells Riot Police to "Maintain High Alert" Over Weekend

Britain was braced for a long night of violent rioting on Wednesday, after a tense week of anti-migrant uprisings swept across the nation.

Transcript

00:00I think it's really important that we maintain high alert. I've always been here at the control

00:05room of the Met looking at what's essentially the nerve centre but my message to the police and

00:11all of those that are charged with responding to disorder is maintain that high alert. I'm

00:17absolutely convinced that having the police officers in place these last few days in the

00:22right places, the swift justice that's being dispensed in our courts have had a real impact

00:29but we have to stay on high alert going into this weekend because we absolutely have to make sure

00:35that our communities are safe and secure and feel safe and secure. I think there are a lot of things

00:40in the mix this weekend but of course whatever the challenge we have to rise to it and that's

00:46why I've had Cobra meetings, that's why I've been talking to the police today about their plans for

00:51the weekend. Yes football is added into the mix, there are other things in the mix but our focus

00:57has to be absolutely solely on the safety and security of our communities and that's exactly

01:03where it is. In relation to online and social media the first thing I'd say is this is not a

01:10law-free zone and I think that's clear from the prosecutions and sentencing. Today we're due

01:15sentencing for online behaviour. That's a reminder to everyone that whether you're directly involved

01:22or whether you're remotely involved you're culpable and you will be put before the courts

01:28if you've broken the law and so that's happening today, that sentencing. I do agree that we're

01:33going to have to look more broadly at social media after this disorder but the focus at the moment

01:41has to be on dealing with the disorder and making sure that our communities are safe and secure.

01:46I think people should be mindful of the first priority which is to ensure that our communities

01:53are safe and secure. The vast majority of the public are absolutely repulsed by what they've

02:00seen in this disorder, they don't want it and they expect all of us, myself included, to do everything

02:07we possibly can to ensure that the disorder stops and that's why the message to those that are

02:12thinking about getting involved in disorder of any sort is very clear. If you involve yourself

02:18in disorder then the full force of the law will be applied and the fact that we've seen this week

02:23people not just in court but being sentenced to significant terms of custody for their behaviour

02:30just a few days ago I think is a very important message to anyone who's thinking of getting

02:35involved in the coming days.