August 5 Statement on Riots

I had a COBRA meeting this morning which was an opportunity that I took to thank the police for their work over the last few days, to express my support for the police officers who have been injured, and the communities impacted by this mindless thuggery.

For a number of actions that came out of the meeting, the first is we will have a standing army of specialist officers, public duty officers so that we'll have enough officers to deal with this where we need them. The second is we'll ramp up criminal justice. There have already been hundreds of arrests. Some have appeared in court this morning. I've asked for early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved in the process who will feel the full force of the law. And thirdly, I've been absolutely clear that the criminal law applies online as well as offline. And I'm assured that that's the approach that is being taken.

Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest, it is pure violence. And we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or our Muslim communities. So the full force of the law will be visited on all those who are identified as having taken part in these activities.