Those inciting riots online will not escape the law, top prosecutor warns

People who have stirred up disorder online will not escape prosecution, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service has warned, as more than 100 charges related to the riots have been laid.

Dozens of people have appeared in courtrooms facing charges related to the unrest which has now lasted a week across England and in parts of Northern Ireland.

Those suspected of crimes related to the riots have started to appear at – or are listed to attend – courts in Sheffield, Manchester, Teesside and Liverpool.

One man has been charged with intending to stir up racial hatred relating to alleged posts on Facebook, and will appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson told the BBC he was “absolutely” seeking to prosecute people for online offences related to the rioting.

The CPS chief hit out at those who had used the internet for the “purposes of incitement and planning”, adding: “If you’re engaged in that activity, then you can be prosecuted for the substantive offence that you have caused (due) to what you’ve been doing using the internet.”

In a warning to those acting outside the UK, Mr Parkinson said: “Some people are abroad. That doesn’t mean they’re safe.

“We have liaison prosecutors spread around the globe who’ve got local links with the local judiciary and law enforcement, but also the police are also stationed abroad.”

Approximately 100 charges have been laid relating to the riots, Mr Parkinson said, as more than 400 people have been arrested.

There were 46 charges on Monday and 18 overnight into Tuesday, it is understood.

Many of those have now been released on bail for court appearance at a later date, with the chief prosecutor adding he was confident the justice system had “the capacity and the capability to deal with the work that’s there and the work that we anticipate coming forward”.

Officers are anticipating a busy day on Wednesday as they monitor reports of at least 30 possible gatherings.

Concerns for the safety of immigration law specialists has meanwhile been sparked after a list of solicitors’ firms and advice agencies was shared in chat groups as targets for gatherings in the coming days.

One of the locations listed told the PA news agency they had been offered extra police support which they said they would accept.

Justice minister Heidi Alexander told broadcasters on Tuesday morning that courts “could possibly” begin sitting “through the evening, the night, at weekends” in order to prosecute rioters swiftly.

The additional courts protocol, which was created in the aftermath of the 2011 riots, could be invoked in areas where police and prosecuting chiefs feel it is needed, the minister also told LBC.

Ms Alexander said some 567 additional prison spaces would soon come into use to deal with rioters.

Extra cells at HMP Stocken, Rutland, will be in use from “next week”, she said, with plans also in place to use space at Cookham Wood Young Offender Institution in Kent for adult prisoners.

As the Government continues to toughen its stance towards the riots, Sir Keir Starmer meanwhile told his senior ministers at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting that “99.9% of people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities”.

He added the Government “will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end”.

A number of people charged with violent disorder have already pleaded guilty to their part in the widespread violence.

Self-employed builder Joshua Simpson became the first person to be convicted following the rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham after he admitted assaulting a police officer.

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard how Simpson, 25, was abusive to police before he kicked a riot shield, forcing it back onto an officer’s leg.

The defendant admitted one count of assault of an emergency worker.

He was remanded in custody by deputy district judge Simon Blakebrough who asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared before he is sentenced on August 27.

Jordan Parlour, 28, is meanwhile due to appear at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with intending to stir up racial hatred relating to alleged posts on Facebook, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Others are expected to appear in court across the country throughout the day.

In Belfast, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is dealing with a suspected hate crime amid ongoing rioting.

A man in his 30s is in a serious condition in hospital after being attacked in the Donegall Road and Oban Street area of the city.

Police said witnesses reported seeing his attackers stamp on his head as members of the public attempted to shield him from further attack.

Officers came under sustained attack from multiple petrol bombs, heavy masonry and bricks in south Belfast over a number of hours on Monday night, according to the PSNI.

Approximately 6,000 specialist officers will be at the ready by the end of the week for the so-called “standing army” of police announced by Sir Keir on Monday.

Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has criticised the plans, and posed a series of questions to the Government.

“Will this ‘standing army’ of officers have no other duties? If so, what will they do when there are no riots? Or is Starmer expecting permanent riots?”

The widespread disorder across the country followed the fatal stabbings of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport last week.

Hundreds of people attended a peaceful vigil in the Merseyside town on Monday evening a week on from the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar.

Incorrect rumours – that the suspect in the stabbings was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a small boat – which spread on social media appear to have fuelled the unrest.