British Police Arrest More Than 1,000 People After Riots During Days

British police while securing a demonstration earlier this month. (Wikimedia Commons/LimeSpiked)

JAKARTA - The national police agency said on Tuesday British authorities had arrested more than 1,000 people, after days of unrest involving violence, arson and looting as well as racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants.

The riots, which followed the killing of three young girls in Southport City, northern England, began after the attacks on July 29 were mistakenly blamed on an Islamist migrant based on online misinformation.

Violence has taken place in cities across the UK as well as in Northern Ireland. Riots have eased since last week, after attempts to identify those involved were stepped up. Many were immediately imprisoned, with some receiving long sentences

The National Police Chief Council said in its latest update that 1,024 people had been arrested and 575 people charged across the UK.

Those arrested included a 69-year-old man accused of vandalism at Liverpool and an 11-year-old boy in Belfast.

A 13-year-old girl pleaded guilty to violent riots at the Basingstoke Court, prosecutors said, after being seen on July 31 hitting and kicking a hotel entrance for asylum seekers.

"This worrying incident will cause real fear among the people targeted by these criminals and it's very sad to know a young girl like that is participating in these violent riots," prosecutor Thomas Power said.

The last time the UK saw widespread unrest was in 2011, when a black man's fatal shooting by police sparked several days of street violence.

Rapid and decisive legal action was seen as helping to ease unrest in 2011, when about 4,000 people were arrested over several weeks.