HIGH ALERT Keir Starmer calls second emergency Cobra meeting over violent riots as cops brace for major carnage with 39 targets
SIR Keir Starmer will chair a second emergency meeting of Cobra this evening on continued action to tackle the violent disorder taking place around the country.
The meeting will be attended by relevant ministers and law enforcement - ahead of further carnage planned in hours
The PM told his senior ministers at today's Cabinet meeting that "99.9% of people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities".
He added the Government "will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end".
Justice minister Heidi Alexander told broadcasters this morning that courts "could possibly" begin sitting "through the evening, the night, at weekends" in order to prosecute rioters swiftly.
The additional courts protocol, which was created in the aftermath of the 2011 riots, could be invoked in areas where police and prosecuting chiefs feel it is needed, the minister also told LBC.Ms Alexander said some 567 additional prison spaces would soon come into use to deal with rioters.
It comes as a leaked list of 39 riot targets "is a credible threat", police say.
And the Met has this afternoon vowed to protect London from "one of the worst spates of violent disorder in the last decade".
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine, who is in charge of the policing operation, said: "This country is faced with one of the worst spates of violent disorder in the last decade."This is a national critical incident and we will do everything in our power to protect London and its communities.
"We know about the events planned by hateful and divisive groups across the capital tomorrow night. They've made their intention to cause disruption and division very clear.
"The scenes of racist, thuggish and criminal behaviour across the country have been deeply shocking. Members of the public and officers have been attacked, many have been injured.
"We will not tolerate this on our streets. We will use every power, tactic and tool available to prevent further scenes of disorder.
"We arrested more than 100 people in central London disorder last week and we will not hesitate to arrest hundreds more if they take to the streets intent on fuelling violence."
Meanwhile, foreign countries are now warning their citizens that travelling to Britain is dangerous.
Thugs were told to "mask up" for carnage tomorrow night on a far-right Telegram channel, with areas including London, Birmingham and Manchester on rioters' hit list.
Yesterday, the PM vowed a "Standing Army" of specialist cops will be on hand to crush thugs.
And now, top cops have confirmed 6,000 riot cops are braced to deal with potential trouble across the country on Wednesday.
Counter-terror cops and detectives from elite regional crime units are also involved in targeting far right ringleaders of the violence which has swept Britain.
One police source said: “Wednesday is going to be a busy day. We are still assessing what is credible and what is not.”
Intelligence units are also monitoring social media and going after TikTok warriors responsible for serious offending and organising attacks on hotels housing migrants and mosques.
Far-right thugs are plotting to attack 39 immigration centres and have shared a sick ‘arson manual’ in a vile online forum.
A Telegram group with more than 14,000 members lists details of immigration lawyers, charities and advice centres across England.
Far-right agitators have posted instructions in the group telling thugs to attack the centres at specific times.
One post in the group was seen by more than 125,000 people in just two hours, The Times reports.
More than 30 far-right gatherings are planned for tomorrow, cops said.
Investigation group Red Flare said the channel also features harrowing calls to murder ethnic minority Brits and government ministers.
It comes as...
- Thugs lob petrol bombs at police van in Belfast riot
- Six arrested after cops attacked in Plymouth
- Muslim graves vandalised in Burnley cemetery
- Gang storms Birmingham pub before kicking a man in the head
- Protesters storm live news broadcast shouting ‘F*** the EDL’
- Shameless Elon Musk turns fire on British cops after spat with Keir Starmer
Other members of the group have shared vile instructions on how to make petrol bombs.
One user posted an "arson manual" produced by a Russian-Ukrainian neo-Nazi group called National Socialism/White Power Crew.
The group includes far-right agitators from abroad - including a Spanish fascist who pledged to "fly England to join you guys".
Some of the asylum centres targeted have now shut or boarded up their windows.
The areas listed include riot hotspots like London, Birmingham, Aldershot, Middlesbrough, Tamworth and Rotherham.
More than 2,000 extra officers have been drafted in to protect the targets in one of the biggest policing operations since the Second World War.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: "We have serious concerns about the safety of our members."
More than 400 people have now been arrested over the week of carnage on England and Northern Ireland's streets.
And country's top prosecutor is considering bringing "terrorism offences" against the worst offenders.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said: "There are sentencing guidelines which indicate that many people who have been caught up in this disorder will face immediate imprisonment. There should be no doubt about that. They are going to prison.
"We are willing to look at terrorism offences. I'm aware of at least one instance where that is happening.
"Where you have organised groups planning activity for the purposes of advancing [an] ideology… planning really, really serious disruption then yes, we will consider terrorism offences."
FULL LIST OF AREAS ON THUGS' HIT LIST
Aldershot
Canterbury
Chatham
Chelmsford
Bedford
Birmingham
Blackburn
Blackpool
Bolton
Brentford
Brighton
Bristol
Cheadle
Derby
Harrow
Hastings
Hull
Kent
Lincoln
Liverpool
Middlesborough
Newcastle
North Finchley
Northampton
Nottingham
Oldham
Oxford
Peterborough
Portsmouth
Preston
Rotherham
Sheffield
Stoke
Southampton
Southend
Sunderland
Tamworth
Walthamstow
Wigan
It comes after ex Met counter-terror boss Neil Basu said violent rioting is terrorism after cops were hit with petrol bombs last night.
Former counter-terror chief Basu said some of the violence over the past week has "crossed the line into terrorism".
Basu told the BBC: "I think we have seen serious acts of violence designed to cause terror to a section of our community."
He said the riots had been sparked by "lies spread through social media" - urging the government to take action.
Basu also slammed Tommy Robinson for "glorifying and creating violence from his sunbed in the Mediterranean".Robinson, 41, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had a UK arrest warrant issued against him last Monday after he skipped a court appearance.
The far-right agitator has now fled to a all-inclusive resort in Cyprus - where he has posted a string of inflammatory tweets.
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