Home Secretary promises ‘thousands more officers on the streets’ following violent disorder

In a statement to the Commons on Monday (September 2) Yvette Cooper began by passing her sympathies to the families of Cher Maximen and Mussie Imnetu, “who died sadly this weekend following violent incidents around Notting Hill Carnival”.

“Our thoughts are with their friends and families at this terrible time and our thanks go to the police who have moved swiftly to charge suspects in both cases,” she said.

“There is no place for such appalling, senseless violence on our streets, and this government is determined to stamp out the scourge of serious violence wherever it is found.”

Ms Cooper also committed to a “rapid review of extremism” after the violent disorder in towns and cities throughout the UK following the fatal stabbings of three young girls in Southport

“Five weeks on, our hearts still ache for the three precious little girls who lost their lives, for their loved ones, and for the other children who were injured or endured unspeakable horror that day,” said the Home Secretary.

“Those violent and criminal attacks were not protests. They were not about grievance. They were thuggery, racism and crime.

“While millions of decent people across the country were praying for bereaved families, a criminal minority of thugs and extremists saw only an opportunity to hijack a town’s grief.”

She added: “Plenty of people across the country have strong views about crime, about policing, about immigration, asylum, the NHS and more.

“But they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police. They don’t loot shops or attack places of worship. And they don’t set buildings alight knowing that other human beings are inside.

“There’s lots to debate on all kinds of policy issues – but no one should make excuses for violence or thuggery that risks public safety. This was brazen criminality, perpetrated in many cases by those with existing criminal convictions.”

Ms Cooper said she has been “concerned for a long time” that not enough is being done to counter extremism – including both Islamist extremism and far right extremism – as there has been no proper strategy in place since 2015.

“I have ordered a rapid review of extremism to ensure we have the strongest possible response to poisonous ideologies that corrode community cohesion and fray the fabric of our democracy,” she said.

The Home Secretary then updated the Commons on the next steps the Government will take in light of this summer’s events.

“First we will take forward positive policing reform to build on the important work done by the National Police Coordination Centre this summer,” said Ms Cooper.

“I want to particularly thank the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and public order lead for the mobilisation work that they did.

“But the reality is coordination infrastructure and systems that they had to work with were too weak.

“And I am therefore asking His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services to work quickly with the NPCC, the College of Policing and the national lead for Public Order, to review the lessons from this summer’s events so that we can ensure strong coordination and intelligence systems are in place and that there is sufficient public order policing for the future.”

As well as ensuring there is proper punishment for those responsible for the disorder, the Home Secretary said they will be “pressing forward at pace with this government’s mission to take back the safety of our streets and restore respect for the police and the rule of law”.

“We will put thousands more neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs back on streets, reversing the collapse in community policing and rebuilding the relationship between local communities and forces,” she said,

Another step the Home Secretary outlined was to strengthen of the requirements for social media companies to take responsibility for “the poison proliferated on their platforms with the roll out of the measures in the Online Safety Act”.

This will be the focus of the Secretary of State for Science Innovation and Technology going forward, said Ms Cooper, adding: “We will continue to be clear that criminal content online results in criminal sanctions offline.”