Sir Keir Starmer today warned far-right thugs plotting fresh chaos they will ‘feel the full force of the law’ as he said justice was already being served over Britain’s riots.
Police are braced for further violence tonight with more than 100 planned protests and potentially around 30 more counter protests.
Gatherings are expected in 41 of the 43 police force areas across England and Wales.
The scenes of violence in UK towns and cities has already stretched into a second week, with initial rioting sparked by the Southport stabbing attack last Monday.
There have since been hundreds of arrests and more than 140 people have been charged, with others having already been jailed for their part in the chaos.
Deputy PM Angela Rayner echoed Sir Keir’s message this afternoon as she said police ‘will be there to respond to any violence and criminality’ this evening.
‘People need to understand that if you throw missiles, if you attack people, if you incite hatred and violence, whether that’s online, or whether you’re offline, you will be met with the law because it is unlawful,’ she added.
‘There is no excuse for thuggery and criminality on the streets.’
Stephen Parkinson, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), revealed that one case of alleged terrorism is ‘actively under consideration’ following the widespread disorder across the country.
He added that the publication of immigration law firms as potential targets for disorder could be considered for terrorism charges.
As police steeled themselves for fresh mayhem tonight, a Downing Street spokesperson said: ‘The PM’s message to anybody causing violent disorder on our streets is clear – you will feel the full force of the law.
‘And today we are already seeing justice being served. Within a matter of days, some of the criminals involved in these riots have been put behind bars.
‘This is just the start, with over 400 arrests, 120 charged and more people being hauled in front of the courts every day.
‘Our criminal justice system is showing violent thuggery has no place on our streets.’
Ms Rayner today visited the Holiday Inn Express at Manvers, near Rotherham, which has been used to house asylum seekers and was stormed by violent thugs on Sunday.
She said: ‘Coming on the streets throwing missiles at the police, attacking police, attacking hotels like this one here today is not a legitimate grievance.
‘It’s not the way we do politics in this country and nobody should be condoning that.
‘This is thuggery, this is violence, someone could’ve got seriously injured over the last couple of days and it’s no excuse for that, and people should stay away from it.’
Mr Parkinson, the DPP and head of the Crown Prosecution Service, said no one had yet been charged with terrorism offences following the outbreak of rioting.
But he added: ‘I’m aware of one case which is actively under consideration.
‘We’re working very closely with counter terrorism police, so I know there are a number of inquiries that are potentially underway.
‘That includes scouring the internet and social media, looking out for the potential for terrorism offences to be committed.’
Mr Parkinson revealed the publication of immigration law firms as potential targets for disorder could be considered for terrorism charges.
‘It’s only going to be a minute number of instances where we’d even consider that,’ he added.
‘But we’ve all read or seen on the news reports of far right groups publishing information about named individuals or immigration law firms, for instance, encouraging activity affecting those individuals.
‘The fact that it’s organised groups that might be motivated by ideological reasons, the fact that they’re promoting potentially very serious offences – that’s the sort of instance where we might want to consider terrorism charges.
‘Most criminal activity that’s going on is perfectly adequately covered by the normal criminal law – including low level criminality.’
He also said the CPS would consider extradition in relation to people posting online about inciting UK riots while being out of the country, if it represented ‘serious criminality’.
Those arrested over the riots continued to appear in court on Wednesday, some reduced to tears as they heard they would be kept in prison before their next hearings.
Liam Ryan, 28, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, cried as he pleaded guilty to violent disorder after disturbances in Manchester city centre on Saturday.
Prosecutors said Ryan had played an ‘active role’ in the disorder, in which a black man was attacked by a ‘large group of far-right protesters’ in Piccadilly Gardens. He is expected to be sentenced next week.
Others have already received prison sentences for their parts in the rioting.
Derek Drummond, 58, from Southport, Merseyside, was jailed for three years on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker during the unrest in Southport on July 30.
He is the first person to receive a substantial prison sentence for taking part in the violence that has rocked parts of the UK over the past week.
Two other men, Declan Geiran, 29, and Liam Riley, 40, received sentences of 30 months and 20 months respectively for their roles in disturbances in Liverpool on Saturday.
In a social media post, Sir Keir said the sentences were an example of ‘the swift action we’re taking’
He added: ‘If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law.’
Police said thousands of officers remained on standby across the country to deal with potential disorder tonight.
Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan Police, said threats against immigration lawyers were ‘at the centre of our planning tonight’.
‘We will not let the immigration asylum system be intimidated’, he added.
A list of solicitors’ firms and advice agencies has been shared in chat groups as possible targets for disturbances on Wednesday, and the message invited people to ‘mask up’ if they attend.
Sir Mark told broadcasters the police had ‘decided to marshal thousands of police officers across the country’ in readiness for potential violence.
He said: ‘We’ve changed our tactics in the last couple of days
‘And so besides marshalling more officers, we’re brigading some of them at key strategic locations across the country to give us more agility to respond to wherever the protests are most intense.
‘So that we can respond with agility and show overwhelming force, so that the criminals and thugs on the streets don’t succeed.’
The Met Commissioner also rejected claims that recent disturbances had been dealt with more harshly than if they had been committed by people from ethnic minorities.
He said claims of ‘two-tier policing’ – such as those made by Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X – were ‘complete nonsense’ and put police officers at risk.