Police brace for week of violence by far right in Southport

Police officers are braced for further violence from far-right agitators in Southport in the days ahead as the seaside town struggles to come to terms with a knife attack that killed three children and left several others in a critical condition.

- Jamie Grierson Hannah Al-Othman Josh Halliday

A mob of up to 300 attacked officers with bricks, destroyed garden walls, set cars and bins alight and attacked a mosque and shop on Tuesday night while many residents of the Merseyside town were attempting to digest the horror that had unfolded at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for children on Monday.

The mother of Elsie Stancombe, one of the children who was killed, intervened in an attempt to cool tensions. "This is the only thing that I will write, but please, please stop the violence in Southport tonight," Stancombe said. "The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this."

But the chief constable of Merseyside, Serena Kennedy, said the force had intelligence that suggested a risk of further violence. Speaking with reporters in Southport, she added: "We absolutely have sufficient resources here to deal with the intelligence that we're receiving about potential further protests this evening and potentially into the weekend.

We are planning now for the next 24 hours but also into the weekend and into next week."

Last night there were further scenes of disorder in London, as crowds of protesters marched on Downing Street. They threw flares and cans while chanting "Rule Britannia", "Save our kids" and "Stop the boats", and police were seen wrestling a man off the road and on to the pavement. Other protesters attempted to kick down a fence and were confronted by riot police.