LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “tiny mindless minority” behind unrest that has plagued several cities after a horrific stabbing at a children’s dance class and vowed to put a stop to it as the 17-year-old suspect was publicly named Thursday in part to counter misinformation blamed as one cause of the fiery clashes.
Starmer said the violence was “clearly driven by far-right hatred” as he announced a plan to enable police to move between communities — just as the “gang of thugs” does. Officers will more easily be able to share intelligence and use facial recognition technology and other tools to prevent the kind of outbursts that have sent scores of police to the hospital the past two nights.
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LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “tiny mindless minority” behind unrest that has plagued several cities after a horrific stabbing at a children’s dance class and vowed to put a stop to it as the 17-year-old suspect was publicly named Thursday in part to counter misinformation blamed as one cause of the fiery clashes.
A police officer stands outside 10 Downing Street, in London, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. A crisis meeting takes place between Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Police leaders, following the violence erupted in Southport. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a meeting at 10 Downing street in London, England, Thursday, August 1, 2024 to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
Protesters scuffle with police during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, second left, holds a meeting at 10 Downing street in London, England, Thursday, August 1, 2024 to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
This court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook shows 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, center, covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Thursday Aug. 1, 2024. (Elizabeth Cook /PA via AP)
Police officers stand outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool, England, Thursday Aug. 1, 2024, following a violent protest on Wednesday evening, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles. There were scenes of violent unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester in the wake of the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, which social media posts had wrongly claimed was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Protesters confront police officers during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Protesters scuffle with police during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Police officers stand guard on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
A police car burns as police officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle, left, and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, speak during a press conference at Merseyside Police Headquarters in Liverpool, England, early Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, as they announce that a 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport. The teenager, who has not been named because of his age also faces 10 counts of attempted murder. (Eleanor Barlow/PA via AP)
Police Officers walk past a burnt out police vehicle as they are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Protesters confront police during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Firefighters tend to a burning police car as police officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
A police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
“This is coordinated; this is deliberate," he said. "This is not a protest that has got out of hand. It is a group of individuals who are absolutely bent on violence.”
The announcement came after police in several cities were pelted with bottles by crowds apparently reacting to the stabbing Monday that killed three and wounded 10.
The announcement came as the teen charged with murdering three girls and stabbing 10 other people made his first appearance and was named in court partly to counter misinformation about his identity that has been blamed for triggering violent protests across England.
Judge Andrew Menary said his decision to allow Axel Rudakubana to be named was exceptional given the boy's age. But he said the teen will lose his right to anonymity when he turns 18 next week and continuing to shield his identity could allow false information about his name and immigration status to metastasize.
“Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum,” Menary said in Liverpool Crown Court.
The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare. The deaths have been used by far-right activists to stoke anger at immigrants and Muslims — though the suspect is not an immigrant, and his religion has not been disclosed.
Rudakubana, who police said was born in Wales, has not been charged with terrorism offenses but faces three counts of murder over the deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England.
He also has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults who were injured.
Rudakubana did not enter a plea and was ordered held without bail and returned to youth detention, though Menary said that might change after his birthday. His next court date is Oct. 25.
The adults, who were listed in critical condition, were named for the first time as Leanne Lucas, who led the dance and yoga class, and John Hayes, who worked nearby and intervened in the attack to protect children. The injured children cannot be named because of their ages.
Two of the children were discharged Thursday, Alder Hey Children’s hospital said. Five others were in stable condition at the hospital.
Prosecutors did not disclose a motive for the crime, but they revealed that the weapon used was a kitchen knife with a curved blade, according to an additional charge he faces.
The suspect, wearing a gray tracksuit, smiled briefly at reporters during an initial appearance in Liverpool Magistrates' Court. At his subsequent appearance in the Crown Court, he pulled his sweatshirt up to his hair to cover his face. He did not speak.
Neither the teen's parents nor family members of victims were in court.
Far-right demonstrators — fueled, in part, by online misinformation — have held several violent protests, ostensibly in response to the attack, clashing with police outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and causing a melee near the prime minister's office in London the next day.
Hundreds of protesters chanting “we want our country back” hurled beer cans and bottles near the prime minister’s Downing Street residence in London on Wednesday evening, and launched flares at a nearby statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill. More than 100 people were arrested for offenses including violent disorder and assault on an emergency worker, London’s Metropolitan Police force said.
Police officers were pelted with bottles and eggs in the town of Hartlepool in northeast England, where a police car was set ablaze. A smaller disturbance was reported in Manchester.
On Tuesday night, a crowd of several hundred people hurled bricks and bottles at riot police in Southport, set trash cans and vehicles on fire and looted a store, hours after a peaceful vigil for the stabbing victims.
Police said a name circulating on social media purported to be the suspect's — spread by far-right activists and accounts of murky origin purporting to be news organizations — was incorrect and that the suspect was born in Britain, contrary to online claims he was an asylum-seeker.
Jonathan Brash, a member of Parliament from Hartlepool, said there needs to be a conversation on how misinformation is being spread by the far-right on social media to incite violence.
“I see it almost every single day — straight-up lies about these situations designed to cause violence, to incite racial hatred,” Brash, a Labour politician, told BBC Radio 4. "We have to deal with that situation because there is so much misinformation and it’s being spread quite deliberately to stoke tension in communities and ultimately it’s the communities that are suffering as a result.”
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference at 10 Downing Street, London, England, Thursday, August 1, 2024, following clashes after the Southport stabbing. The Prime Minister says he will set a national policing unit to crack down on violent protesters after clashes with police across England on the past two nights. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
A police officer stands outside 10 Downing Street, in London, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. A crisis meeting takes place between Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Police leaders, following the violence erupted in Southport. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a meeting at 10 Downing street in London, England, Thursday, August 1, 2024 to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
Protesters scuffle with police during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, second left, holds a meeting at 10 Downing street in London, England, Thursday, August 1, 2024 to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
This court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook shows 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, center, covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Thursday Aug. 1, 2024. (Elizabeth Cook /PA via AP)
Police officers stand outside a damaged butchers shop on Murray Street in Hartlepool, England, Thursday Aug. 1, 2024, following a violent protest on Wednesday evening, where demonstrators set fire to a police car and pelted officers with missiles, including glass bottles. There were scenes of violent unrest in London, Hartlepool and Manchester in the wake of the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport, which social media posts had wrongly claimed was carried out by a Muslim asylum seeker who crossed the Channel in a small boat. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Protesters confront police officers during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Protesters scuffle with police during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Police officers stand guard on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
A police car burns as police officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle, left, and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, speak during a press conference at Merseyside Police Headquarters in Liverpool, England, early Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, as they announce that a 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport. The teenager, who has not been named because of his age also faces 10 counts of attempted murder. (Eleanor Barlow/PA via AP)
Police Officers walk past a burnt out police vehicle as they are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
Protesters confront police during the "Enough is Enough" protest in Whitehall, London, Wednesday July 31, 2024, following the fatal stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class on Monday in Southport. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Firefighters tend to a burning police car as police officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
A police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest in the wake of the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups seek to stir anger over an attack they have sought to link — without evidence — to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)
