LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned Friday that UK authorities must “stay on high alert” for more far-right riots, as courts issued the first jail sentences for online incitement during the recent disorder.
While England has had consecutive nights of relative quiet, disturbances have continued unabated in Northern Ireland where police have blamed pro-UK loyalist paramilitaries for fueling nightly violence in Belfast.
More than 1,000 anti-racism protesters massed in the Northern Irish capital on Friday amid a large police presence.
Several dozen anti-immigration demonstrators also showed up.
Starmer told reporters during a visit to the London police headquarters that “swift justice” handed out by courts was helping deter more disorder in English towns.
“But we have to stay on high alert going into this weekend because we absolutely have to make sure that our communities are safe and secure,” Starmer added.
A judge in Leeds, northern England, jailed a 28-year-old man for 20 months after he admitted publishing Facebook posts that met the criminal threshold for stirring racial hatred.
In the first case of its kind linked to the disturbances, a judge sentenced Jordan Parlour for posts last week encouraging people to attack a hotel in the city housing asylum seekers and refugees.
The hotel manager had to put the building into lockdown Saturday due to disorder in the city, and at least one window was broken after stones were thrown at it.
In Northampton, central England, a judge jailed 26-year-old Tyler Kay for 38 months after he called on social media for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set alight.
Speaking before the sentences — but after both had been convicted — Starmer said they were “a reminder to everyone that whether you’re directly involved or whether you’re remotely involved, you’re culpable.”
Social media executives and users should be “mindful of the first priority, which is to ensure that our communities are safe and secure.”
“We’re going to have to look more broadly at social media after this disorder but the focus at the moment has to be on dealing with the disorder,” Starmer said.
Police in England said nearly 600 arrests have been carried out linked to the unrest since July 30 and around 150 charges had been filed.
The disturbances, sparked by a July 29 knife attack in which three children were killed, have seen mosques and migrant-related facilities attacked alongside police and other targets.
Officials say false information spread on social media about the suspected perpetrator fueled the disorder.
Courts across England have started sentencing participants in the disorder, with about a dozen people jailed on Thursday.
In Northern Ireland, a number of Belfast businesses and libraries closed early on Friday after more disorder overnight and the latest protests.
Police there said 23 people have been arrested so far in Belfast following the disturbances, and 15 charged.
Officers have been granted additional powers to stop and search suspected troublemakers and ask them to remove face coverings, while additional manpower is being sent from the UK mainland, according to reports.
Britain’s monarch, King Charles III, praised the police and emergency services “for all they are doing to restore peace in those areas that have been affected by violent disorder.”
He hoped that the “shared values of mutual respect and understanding will continue to strengthen and unite the nation,” a palace spokesman added in a statement, his first reaction to the unrest
French President Emmanuel Macron offered his support to Starmer in a phone call with the prime minister Friday, said a statement from the French presidency.
Offering condolences to the families of the victims of the July 29 stabbing, Macron “firmly condemned the violence and disorder” in Britain in his conversation with Starmer, said the statement.
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UK remains on ‘high’ riot alert as jail terms ordered for social media posts
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UK remains on ‘high’ riot alert as jail terms ordered for social media posts
- Racist attacks and disorder have mostly targeted Muslims and migrants
- There are around 40 counter-protests due on Saturday, according to the Stand Up to Racism group
More than 200 political prisoners in Venezuela launch hunger strike
GUATIRE: More than 200 Venezuelan political prisoners were on hunger strike Sunday to demand their release under a new amnesty law that excludes many of them.
The inmates at the Rodeo I prison, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of capital Caracas, shouted to their loved ones as part of the protest, an AFP journalist witnessed.
“Freedom!,” “release us all!” and “Rodeo I on strike” were among the cries from the prisoners that were audible from outside the facility.
The amnesty law was approved by Venezuela’s congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The hunger strike, which began Friday night, came about after inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.
“Approximately 214 people in total, including Venezuelans and foreigners, are on hunger strike,” said Yalitza Garcia, mother-in-law of a prisoner named Nahuel Agustin Gallo.
Gallo, an Argentine police officer, is accused of terrorism, another category that is excluded.
“They decided Friday to go on hunger strike because of the scope of the amnesty law, which excludes many of them,” said Shakira Ibarreto, the daughter of a policeman arrested in 2024.
On Sunday, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Rodeo I prison.
“This is the first time they have allowed us to approach that prison,” Filippo Gatti, the ICRC’s health coordinator for Venezuela, told family members. “It’s a first step, and I think we’re on the right track.”
Not all the inmates at the prison were joining the hunger strike, the relatives said.
- Amnesty law criticized -
The amnesty law was engineered by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US commandos attacked Venezuela on January 3, snatched Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States for trial on drug trafficking charges.
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.
The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of activities related to what the government considered terrorism.
But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.
More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have already applied for amnesty under the bill, the head of the country’s legislature said Saturday.
Hundreds of others had already been released by Rodriguez’s government before the amnesty bill was approved.
On Sunday, a handful of inmates were released from Rodeo I, carrying release papers in their hands. They were greeted with applause.
“I’m out, I love you so much, my queen! I’m doing well,” Robin Colina, one of the freed prisoners, said excitedly into a mobile phone.
Armando Fusil, another released prisoner, told AFP: “Right now there are quite a few people on hunger strike because they want to get out.”
The 55-year-old police commissioner from the western state of Maracaibo said he was “arrested for no reason” in October 2024.
He said loved ones came to visit him every Friday since his arrest, taking a nearly 40-hour trip just for a little bit of face time each week.
Now, they’re coming to pick him up for good.
“We all help each other,” Fusil said about his fellow detainees. “It’s created a beautiful brotherhood.”
The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, reported 23 releases on Sunday.
Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under his harsh leftist rule.
Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a prisoner of war.
The inmates at the Rodeo I prison, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of capital Caracas, shouted to their loved ones as part of the protest, an AFP journalist witnessed.
“Freedom!,” “release us all!” and “Rodeo I on strike” were among the cries from the prisoners that were audible from outside the facility.
The amnesty law was approved by Venezuela’s congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The hunger strike, which began Friday night, came about after inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.
“Approximately 214 people in total, including Venezuelans and foreigners, are on hunger strike,” said Yalitza Garcia, mother-in-law of a prisoner named Nahuel Agustin Gallo.
Gallo, an Argentine police officer, is accused of terrorism, another category that is excluded.
“They decided Friday to go on hunger strike because of the scope of the amnesty law, which excludes many of them,” said Shakira Ibarreto, the daughter of a policeman arrested in 2024.
On Sunday, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Rodeo I prison.
“This is the first time they have allowed us to approach that prison,” Filippo Gatti, the ICRC’s health coordinator for Venezuela, told family members. “It’s a first step, and I think we’re on the right track.”
Not all the inmates at the prison were joining the hunger strike, the relatives said.
- Amnesty law criticized -
The amnesty law was engineered by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US commandos attacked Venezuela on January 3, snatched Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States for trial on drug trafficking charges.
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.
The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of activities related to what the government considered terrorism.
But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.
More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have already applied for amnesty under the bill, the head of the country’s legislature said Saturday.
Hundreds of others had already been released by Rodriguez’s government before the amnesty bill was approved.
On Sunday, a handful of inmates were released from Rodeo I, carrying release papers in their hands. They were greeted with applause.
“I’m out, I love you so much, my queen! I’m doing well,” Robin Colina, one of the freed prisoners, said excitedly into a mobile phone.
Armando Fusil, another released prisoner, told AFP: “Right now there are quite a few people on hunger strike because they want to get out.”
The 55-year-old police commissioner from the western state of Maracaibo said he was “arrested for no reason” in October 2024.
He said loved ones came to visit him every Friday since his arrest, taking a nearly 40-hour trip just for a little bit of face time each week.
Now, they’re coming to pick him up for good.
“We all help each other,” Fusil said about his fellow detainees. “It’s created a beautiful brotherhood.”
The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, reported 23 releases on Sunday.
Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under his harsh leftist rule.
Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a prisoner of war.
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