Demonstrators attack police and target hotel as riots continue

Masked rioters threw lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham.

A police officer walks past a fire during clashes between police and rioters in Rotherham (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Anti-immigration demonstrators have attacked police and smashed the windows of a hotel, as unrest across the country continues.

Masked rioters launched lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

Videos from social media appeared to show demonstrators storming into the hotel, with reports of a fire inside.

A police helicopter circled overhead, and at least one injured officer in riot gear was carried away as the atmosphere turned febrile.

Elsewhere, Greater Manchester Police said a Section 34 dispersal notice has been authorised covering Bolton until 10pm on Sunday, where a protest is expected later.

Merseyside Police have introduced two section 60 orders giving officers greater stop-and-search powers covering Liverpool and Southport.

The orders were put in place at 2pm on Sunday and will stay active for a 12-hour period until 2am on Monday.

Inspector Al McKeon said: “The scenes we saw yesterday in Liverpool and Walton, and on Tuesday in Southport, were despicable. They left dozens of officers requiring hospital treatment and have already led to the arrests of a total of 33 suspects.”

Police have “all the resources they need” to deal with riots and disorder, a minister said earlier.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has given police his “full backing” to take any action necessary to respond to “extremists” attempting to “sow hate” after scenes of disorder in England and Northern Ireland this week.

Teams worked through the night to reopen streets in cities like Hull, where volunteers armed with brushes turned up from 7am to assist council crews.

“Yesterday we saw the worst of Hull but already today we have seen the best,” councillor Jack Haines of Hull City Council said.

Asked whether enough is being done to respond to the disorder, policing minister Dame Diana said the Government has been “reassured” that forces are able to meet the scale of the challenge.

“The police have made it very clear that they have all the resources they need at the moment … they have the powers that they need,” the minister told BBC News.

The far-right has drawn widespread condemnation as the organising force behind scenes of disorder in multiple towns and cities in the wake of the killings of three young girls in Southport on Monday.

False claims had spread online that the suspect, later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana from Lancashire, was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.

Sir Keir held crisis talks with ministers on Saturday over the unrest, with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood telling colleagues “the whole justice system is ready to deliver convictions as quickly as possible”.

There was violence on Saturday in towns and cities such as Hull, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Bristol, Manchester, Blackpool and Belfast which saw several police officers injured.

Faith leaders across Merseyside have called on communities to “remain calm and peaceful” in the aftermath of the Southport killings, saying some people “have sought to use the tragedy to create division and hate”.

The joint statement signed by several faith leaders said: “Division can destroy the very relationships and environment that we depend upon every day of our lives and there is no place for hate in our communities.

“It can – and has – left communities in fear and has put people in danger.”