After riots broke out in the wake of the Monday deaths of three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday that the British government will enforce increased measures to restrict movement and deploy wider-reaching "facial recognition."
Within hours of the stabbing attack in northwest England that killed three young girls and wounded several more children, a false name of a supposed suspect was circulating on social media. Hours after that, violent protesters were clashing with police outside a nearby mosque — the first of several violent protests in across England.
Police say the name was fake, as were rumors that the 17-year-old suspect was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain. The suspect charged with murder and attempted murder was named Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, born in the U.K. to Rwandan parents.
By the time a judge said the teen suspect could be identified, rumors already were rife and right-leaning influencers had pinned the blame on immigrants and Muslims.
Construing the upheaval in civil order as a result of right-leaning groups rioting, Starmer said, "Following this meeting, we will establish a national capability across police forces to tackle violent disorder. These thugs are mobile; they move from community to community, and we must have a policing response that can do the same.
"Shared intelligence, wider deployment of facial recognition technology, and preventative action — criminal behavior orders to restrict their movements before they can even board a train — in just the same way that we do with football hooligans.
"And let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: Violent disorder clearly whipped up online is also a crime. It's happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere. That is the single most important duty of government. Service rests on security, and we will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe," he said.
Throughout the press conference, as Starmer began taking questions, he suggested that it's not just acts of physical violence that are cause for further surveillance measures to be taken but that speech online is enough for a capital offense.
"In relation to the platform providers, some of it isn't as complicated as it may at first seem," the British prime minister said. "Inciting violence online is a criminal offense, and that is not a matter of free speech; it is a criminal offense.
"Clearly, in relation to platform providers, there's a balance to be struck. Social media platform providers offer an amazing opportunity that we all enjoy as a country, and it is very important to us that these platforms are there to be used for the great opportunities they provide.
"There is also a responsibility that goes with it. That's a space for a mature conversation to take place in relation to the comments of others," he said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.