Yvette Cooper commits to ‘rapid review of extremism’ after Southport riots

The Home Secretary also pledged ‘thousands more’ neighbourhood police officers and community support officers.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)

Yvette Cooper has committed to a “rapid review of extremism” after the violent disorder in towns and cities throughout the UK earlier this summer.

The Home Secretary accused the rioters, who were embroiled in disorder after the fatal stabbings of three young girls in Southport, of “hijacking” grief.

She also pledged “thousands more” neighbourhood police officers and community support officers as part of five “next steps” to improve community cohesion and ensure sufficient public order policing for the future.

I have ordered a rapid review of extremism to ensure we have the strongest possible response to poisonous ideologies that corrode community cohesion and fray the fabric of our democracy

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper

In a statement to the Commons on Monday, she said: “While millions of decent people across the country were praying for bereaved families, a criminal minority of thugs and extremists saw only an opportunity to hijack a town’s grief.

“I’ve been concerned for a long time not enough is being done to counter extremism, including both Islamist extremism and far-right extremism, and there’s been no proper strategy in place since 2015.

“I have ordered a rapid review of extremism to ensure we have the strongest possible response to poisonous ideologies that corrode community cohesion and fray the fabric of our democracy.”

She continued: “The reality is that the co-ordination infrastructure and systems that the police) had to work with were too weak.

“And I’m therefore asking His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services to work quickly with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing and national lead for public order to review the lessons from this summer’s events so we can ensure strong co-ordination and intelligent systems are in place and that there is sufficient public order policing for the future.”

Included in her list of next steps was that Technology Secretary Peter Kyle would “strengthen the requirements for social media companies to take responsibility for the poison proliferated on their platforms with the rollout of the measures in the Online Safety Act”.

Later in the session, Labour MP for Southport Patrick Hurley, said it was a “grotesque lie” that rioters were acting on behalf of the people of Southport after the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar.

He added: “What happened in Southport provides no justification at all for anyone throwing bricks at the police, for anyone attacking people in their own cars or burning down buildings with people inside them, and for anyone to pretend otherwise is too horrific for words.”

Elsewhere, SNP MP Pete Wishart (Perth and Kinross-shire) called on Ms Cooper to “stop demonising asylum seekers”.

He said: “Does (Ms Cooper) accept that the way that immigrants and asylum seekers are being portrayed by a whole host of political voices has helped to foster and foment and even encourage some of the scenes that we witnessed?

“And those that will be whipping up this type of activity must be held to account, as are those that peddled the misinformation. And will she also help that debate by talking a little bit more positively about immigration, stop demonising asylum seekers?”

Ms Cooper replied: “We should have sort of honest and practical debates about issues, rather than debates that end up being lost in rhetoric.”