Impact of riots will be felt for years, justice secretary warns

Rising to the challenge of swiftly punishing rioters will make it harder for the government to rebuild the justice system, a minister has said.

Writing in the Observer, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the impact of the days of disorder, fuelled by online disinformation following the Southport attack, would be “felt for months and years to come”.

Her comments come as the director of public prosecutions said some rioters could be jailed for up to 10 years, with cases carrying more serious charges to come through the system in the coming days.

Stephen Parkinson told the Sunday Times the charges were not about “exacting revenge” but “delivering justice”.

Ms Mahmood praised prosecutors and the judiciary for ensuring “swift and true” justice, but said “rising to this challenge has been made harder” due to the system “we inherited from the Conservatives”, citing crown court backlogs and prisons “close to overflowing”.

Shortly after Labour’s election victory in July, Ms Mahmood said the government had no choice but to release some prisoners early to avoid a “total collapse” of the prison system.

The previous Conservative justice secretary, Alex Chalk, announced plans for some prisoners to be released up to two months early in March, however BBC News understands a plan to go further and release prisoners 40% of the way through a sentence was not signed off by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak before the election.

“The impact of these days of disorder will be felt for months and years to come. They make the job of rebuilding the justice system harder,” Ms Mahmood wrote in her piece in the Observer,

It also offers a “sobering reminder”, she said, of “how much worse things might have been” had Labour not acted to address the crisis.

Ms Mahmood renewed a warning to those who have participated in the unrest.

“If you stoke fear, or take part in violence, the full force of the law will be brought against you. Justice will be done,” she wrote.

Despite the violence having eased in recent days, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has delayed a family holiday to continue to focus on the government’s response.

On Thursday, he said there was “no doubt” rapid sentencing had “acted as a deterrent” to prevent further unrest that had been expected last Wednesday, but told an emergency Cobra meeting police would remain on high alert.

Director of public prosecutions Mr Parkinson told the Sunday Times that many more people involved in the riots will be charged in the coming days.

Police have so far arrested 779 people in connection with the rioting, with 349 of those charged.

Mr Parkinson said prosecutors were now considering cases relating to rioting, a serious offence which carries a possible ten-year prison term.

Many of those sentenced so far have been prosecuted for violent disorder, a lesser charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

“As well as seeing a more significant number of charges coming through the system in the next few days, [the cases are] going to include more serious charges with stiffer penalties,” Mr Parkinson said.

“We warned of the consequences and we will deliver those consequences.”

Violent disorder in UK towns and cities began after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 29 July.

The rioting over the course of the subsequent week included attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers, and was fuelled by a false rumour spread through social media that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker.

Business owners have told the BBC of watching helplessly as rioters damaged and looted their shops during the unrest.

And business secretary has urged the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to swiftly resolve claims made by businesses damaged by rioters.

In a letter to Hannah Gurga, director general of the ABI, Jonathan Reynolds wrote: “The barbaric action is likely to have led to thousands of pounds of damage to shop fronts and stock, while the people who keep our high streets alive have experienced outright racism.”

Welcoming the insurance industry’s willingness to support its customers, Mr Reynolds said businesses’ claims must be resolved to ensure they “do not suffer additional delay in reopening and continuing to serve their local communities”.

“It is important that those who seek to divide us do not succeed by pushing out the businesses that bring us together as a community,” he said.

The violence had largely calmed by Wednesday 7 August, when thousands of anti-racism protesters took to the streets across the UK.

On Saturday, thousands again gathered for demonstrations organisers said were intended to be a “peaceful response to racist violence of recent days”.