Calls to impose tough sentences on thugs protesting in Southport have been sounded after peaceful climate protesters were jailed for several years.
Violence against police broke out in Merseysie after three girls were killed in a knife attack, with Sir Keir Starmer saying rioters would “feel the full force of the law”.
The Prime Minister said rioters in Southport on Tuesday evening had “hijacked” a vigil for victims, with 39 police officers treated after sustaining injuries.
Merseyside Police said eight officers suffered serious injuries including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and concussion.
The force said those involved set cars belonging to members of the public alight, threw bricks at the local mosque and damaged a local convenience store, and set wheelie bins on fire.
Writing on X, Sir Keir said: “The people of Southport are reeling after the horror inflicted on them yesterday.
“They deserve our support and our respect. Those who have hijacked the vigil for the victims with violence and thuggery have insulted the community as it grieves.”
Calls on social media to impose tough sentences on those involved in the riots have been sounded.
Earlier this month, five Just Stop Oil protesters, including one of its co-founders, were jailed for several years for conspiring to organise protests that blocked the M25 motorway, in what are thought to be the longest sentences ever given for peaceful protest.
Roger Hallam, 58, Daniel Shaw, 38, Louise Lancaster, 58, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, 35, and Cressida Gethin, 22, agreed to cause disruption to traffic by having protesters climb onto gantries over the motorway for four successive days in November 2022.
Hallam, co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment while the remaining four defendants were each handed four years’ imprisonment.
The sentences exceed those handed to fellow Just Stop Oil protesters Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker, who scaled the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge on the Dartford Crossing in October 2022.
Related: Southport clean up begins after far-right leave their touching tributes to the bereaved