‘Standing army’ of UK police prepares for more clashes

08 August,2024 07:33 AM IST |  London  |  Agencies

The British government has called on Elon Musk to act responsibly after the tech billionaire used his social media platform X to unleash a barrage of posts that officials say risk inflaming the violent unrest gripping the country

An anti-immigration protest in Rotherham. Pic/Twitter


Thousands of police personnel, including those with specialist training, are geared up as the so-called "standing army" of defence against an expected surge of far-right anti-immigration protests on Wednesday, this time targeted at immigration lawyers and their offices.

After a week of violent clashes on the streets of different cities across the UK, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired his second emergency COBRA meeting on Tuesday evening with ministers, police chiefs and security experts to draft a detailed strategy to counter any further riots. A list of solicitors' firms and immigration advice agencies has been circulating online, inviting protesters to "mask up" and turn out -- described by the government as "unacceptable".

"We're doing everything we can to ensure that where a police response is needed, it's in place, where support is needed for particular places, that is in place," Starmer told reporters after the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA) meeting.

UK govt calls on Elon Musk to act responsibly

The British government has called on Elon Musk to act responsibly after the tech billionaire used his social media platform X to unleash a barrage of posts that officials say risk inflaming the violent unrest gripping the country. Justice Minister Heidi Alexander made the comments Tuesday morning after Musk posted a comment saying that "Civil war is inevitable" in the UK. Musk later doubled down, highlighting complaints that the British criminal justice system treats Muslims more leniently than far-right activists and comparing Britain's crackdown on social media users to the Soviet Union.

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