Key points
- Starmer announces national policing unit to end 'violent disorder' after riots over Southport killings
- Exclusive:A network of anonymous TikTok accounts is attempting to cause unrest in UK cities
- Teenager accused of Southport murders named as Axel Rudakubana
- Sarah-Jane Mee:The very best of humanity follows the very worst
- First confirmed photo of suspect - and what we know about him
- Judge explains 'exceptional' decision to reveal identity
- Two children discharged from hospital and others 'in stable condition'
- Explained:How false claims and speculation online spurred violence on streets
- Reporting by Lauren Russell
A network of anonymous TikTok accounts is attempting to cause unrest in UK cities
Exclusive bySam Doak,OSINT producer
Organisers responsible for encouraging people to attend the recent riot in Southport appear to be attempting to seed unrest in cities across the country through a network of anonymous TikTok profiles.
Prior to the riot, an anonymous TikTok account with the username @quercrqfi6j posted a number of inflammatory graphics calling for mass deportations, urging people to wear masks and directing people to assemble on Southport's Luke Road.
Content that first appeared on this TikTok account was then shared by larger accounts on X (formerly Twitter), where they were seen by a far larger audience.
Sky News has found a network of new accounts that resemble @quercrqfi6j.
All are new, and post similar content in an identical format to a post that originally appeared on the account.
All have posted at least one image consisting of red text boxes laid over a screenshot, ending messages with a series of fire emojis.
They appear to have been created to give the appearance they are run by people local to various cities across the UK, with all but one using a place name and various words relating to a group of men in their username.
One of these accounts follows the format of another @quercrqfi6j post, consisting of a message laid over a Google Maps screenshot with a location marked in red.
Sky News has identified five of these accounts in addition to @quercrqfi6j, each trying to incite turnout in cities across the UK.
While it is unclear who is behind these accounts, Sky News has identified a Telegram Channel which consistently reposts the content published through them.
The channel does so shortly after the TikTok posts are published, despite one account having zero followers and all being difficult to find through search.
This appears to indicate the owner of the channel has knowledge of the network.
From these posts, it appears that a single person or group is using deceptive tactics to replicate the riot in Southport in multiple cities.
'Thuggery has no place on Britain's streets', says home secretary
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said "violent disorder and thuggery has no place on Britain's streets" as she joined the prime minister in a meeting with police chiefs in Downing Street.
Sharing a photo of the meeting, Ms Cooper reiterated that the government will work with the group of top officers to "crack down on violent disorder".
North West landmarks to light up pink this weekend
A local council in Merseyside is calling for all landmarks across the North West to be illuminated in pink this weekend in support of all those affected by Monday's knife attack.
Posting on X, Sefton Council said Southport will light up pink for three nights as a mark of respect and solidarity to everyone affected by the tragedy.
Other landmarks that have already agreed to turn pink from tomorrow until Sunday include:
- Liverpool Town Hall
- St George's Hall
- Chester Town Hall
- The Mersey Gateway Bridge
- The Cunard
- Hospitals across the region
Boy, 11, arrested on suspicion of arson
An 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a police vehicle was set alight during last night's protest in Hartlepool.
Cleveland Police said the vehicle was set alight on Dent Street during the disorder in the town.
The force said earlier today that 11 people in total were arrested after "committing some violent disorder".
Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: "This is very much a live investigation and we are continuing to work to identify those involved in the disorder yesterday evening and bring them to justice.
"Disorder of this kind will not be tolerated and those found to be involved will be robustly dealt with."
PM's plan on facial recognition technology 'alarming', says campaign group
Civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch has criticised Sir Keir Starmer's move to roll out facial recognition technology.
Silkie Carlo, director of the group, said the prime minister's decision is "alarming" and is a "pledge to plunder more vital police resources on mass surveillance that threatens rather than protects democracy".
She said the technology turns members of the public into "walking ID cards" and is common in places like Russia and China.
The prime minister announced earlier that the technology would be rolled out as part of a new violent disorder unit.
The unit will aim to tackle rioting similar to what has been seen across multiple cities in the UK, including Southport, over the past two nights.
For context: Under UK law, police can use three types of facial recognition: retrospective facial recognition, live facial recognition and operator initiated facial recognition.
The first is used after an event as part of a criminal investigation, the second enables police to identify wanted people and the third is a mobile App that allows officers, after engaging with a person of interest, to photograph them and check their identity where they are not sure.
Police extend stop and search powers in Southport
A Section 60 order, giving police greater stop and search powers, has been extended in Southport following Monday's mass stabbing and the subsequent disorder.
The order will remain in place until 6pm tomorrow, having extended on the previous order that ran until 5pm.
A map (see below) shared by Merseyside Police shows the order incorporates the entirety of Southport town centre, including Sussex Road and St Luke's Road as well as the villages of Ainsdale, Hillside and Birkdale.
Doug Chadwick, a community inspector at Merseyside Police, said the orders were an "effective tool" in the force's efforts to protect the public from "the violence and destruction the town saw on Tuesday".
It allows officers to stop and search people suspected of carrying weapons or planning any criminality.
Mr Chadwick added: "People living in Southport will now be used to seeing a highly visible police presence on their streets. I hope that presence is reassuring, and I would ask anyone with concerns to speak to our officers."
Listen: How disinformation is fueling the far right
Earlier today, a judge made the "exceptional" decision to name the17-year-old suspect charged with the murder of three girls in the Southportstabbing attack,in an attempt toprevent further misinformation spreading online.
Reporting restrictions around the identification of a minor left an information vacuum into which disinformationspread, fuelling violence in towns across the country in recent days.
On tonight's Sky News Daily podcast, Liz Bates speaks to our data and forensics correspondent Tom Cheshire to explore how disinformation is spread online.
Joe Mulhall from advocacy group Hope Not Hate also explains the challenges of tackling the far-rightideology when it'snot identified with a specific group.
Listen to the full podcast here...
New court sketch of Axel Rudakubana released
A new court sketch of Axel Rudakubana has been released.
The image, created by court artistHelen Tipper, captures the 17-year-old with his shirt over his nose and mouth.
In another sketch created by Elizabeth Cook, the suspect was depicted with his head in his hands (see our 14.58 post).
Top cop calls for 'reinvestment in local policing' to prevent violent disorder
The chief constable of the National Police Chiefs' Council, Gavin Stephens, who attended a meeting of top officers in Downing Street, has called for "reinvestment in local policing".
Chief Constable Stephens told broadcasters after meeting the PM he welcomed the conversation about "how we pull together the coordination across UK policing".
'Now is the time to pull together'
On the rioters who've attacked police and communities in recent days, he had this to say...
"Whatever might motivate you to do that, it is not welcome in the communities that you've been to."
"You are just putting further pain and suffering on those families that are bereaved. And now is it time for us to pull together and get calm."
Asked how tensions can be calmed, he said the "immediate" action is ensuring there is a more visible police presence on the streets.
In the long-term, he called for "reinvestment in neighbourhood policing".
Police working to identify Aldershot protesters
Police are searchingfor protesters who began throwing objects and shouting racist abuse at a demonstration outside a hotel housing migrants in Aldershot, Hampshire, last night.
One officer was injured in the demonstration, which saw 200 people gather outsidePotters International Hotel around 6.45pm yesterday.
In an appeal for witnesses earlier this afternoon, a spokesperson for Aldershot Police said it was reviewing evidence from officers' body-worn cameras and CCTV.
"Our specialist teams are working hard to identify anyone who has committed a criminal offence and we will take swift and robust action against those people,"Assistant Chief Constable Paul Bartolomeo said.
"It is totally unacceptable to turn [the right to protest] into criminal acts, including incidents of criminal damage, racial abuse and intimidation.
"This will not be tolerated in Hampshire and Isle of Wight."
Last night there was also disorder outside Downing Street, in Hartlepool, Manchester and Southend in Essex.
