Connect with us

News

UK rioters as young as 14 charged as government promises ‘swift justice’

Published

on

UK rioters as young as 14 charged as government promises ‘swift justice’

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Rioters as young as 14 years old appeared in court in the UK on Monday, as the government promised that those involved in recent violent unrest will face “swift justice”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for perpetrators to be named and shamed as soon as possible, as he vowed to “ramp up criminal justice” and said a “standing army” of specialist police officers was being assembled to curb disorder.

The Cobra emergency response group of senior ministers and police and prison leaders met earlier in a bid to halt violence that has spread to more than a dozen towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland and led to hundreds of arrests.

Advertisement

Authorities were braced for more violence on Monday evening, while further protests are expected later in the week.

On Monday, Lord Alex Carlile, a former independent reviewer of the UK’s terrorism legislation, said prosecutors should consider charging riot ringleaders with terrorism offences.

“Fundamentally what they’re doing is being done for a political reason — trying to undermine the polity of the nation,” Carlile told the Financial Times, adding that any organisations involved in orchestrating violent demonstrations could also be proscribed by the state as terrorist groups.

The police have not requested that the army be called in, while Downing Street insisted the police have the powers and resources they need.

No 10 is also resisting demands from opposition MPs for parliament to be recalled over the crisis.

Advertisement

Several countries — including the UAE, Nigeria and Indonesia — have nonetheless issued alerts urging their citizens to avoid travel to the UK or attend gatherings while in the country due to the anti-immigration demonstrations and disorder.

Middlesbrough community members clean up after demonstrators caused damage in their neighbourhood © Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

Communities across northern England in particular started the week with efforts to clear up the aftermath of the weekend’s disorder, while the first people appeared in court charged in connection with it.

They included a 14-year-old accused of setting off fireworks in the direction of a police van in Liverpool, who pleaded guilty. The first sentencing hearings have been scheduled for later this month.

Suspects also appeared before magistrates in Sheffield, South Tyneside and Belfast. The ages of those appearing in court ranged from teenagers to pensioners, with a 69-year-old in the dock.

Since violence broke out in the wake of the Southport mass stabbing last week there have been 378 arrests, with the tally expected to rise.

Advertisement

Starmer drew attention to the suspected participants appearing in court on Monday, adding: “I have 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.”

Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, also told the BBC: “We do expect swift justice to take place. We do expect those cases to be reaching court this week.”

However, some suspects will not appear in front of a judge for weeks as the stretched legal system deals with a backlog. Avon and Somerset police said people accused of taking part in criminal unrest in Bristol are likely to attend court in September.

A demonstrator runs from police in Rotherham
A demonstrator runs from police in Rotherham © Hollie Adams/Reuters

Meanwhile, Downing Street warned that foreign state actors could be involved in amplifying online misinformation fuelling disorder on UK streets.

In some parts of the country police stressed that people from a range of backgrounds had taken part in disorder.

Greater Manchester Police chief constable Stephen Watson said that “it was clear that across all events, there were people of all political and cultural backgrounds who attended with the intent of causing trouble and breaking the law”.

Advertisement

He added: “Justice will be forthwith.” The force tackled violent disorder in both Manchester city centre and Bolton last weekend and said it had made 23 arrests.

Following the Cobra meeting in London, Sir Mark Rowley, the most senior police officer in the country, appeared to grab a reporter’s microphone and cast it to the ground when he was asked about “two-tier policing” — the slogan accusing forces of dealing with some protests and activists more harshly than others.

Sir Mark Rowley
Sir Mark Rowley, Met police commissioner © Carl Court/Getty Images

The Met commissioner had been “in a hurry” when the incident occurred, the force said later.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed over the weekend that the “impression of two-tier policing” had “become widespread” in the UK.

The government also faced criticism from the left over its handling of the disorder.

Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, and four other independent MPs who campaigned heavily on a pro-Palestinian platform in the election, accused ministers of “pandering to those who have helped foment the ugly racism behind these protests”, as they hit out at “racist terror”.

Advertisement

In a joint letter to Cooper published on Monday — the latest sign of co-ordination between Corbyn, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohamed and Shockat Adam — the quintet welcomed the home secretary’s condemnation of “far-right thuggery”, but said she had not gone “nearly far enough” in identifying hatred against migrants and Muslims that was “driving this violence”.

“When people are under attack for the colour of their skin and their faith, government references to ‘understandable fears’ send mixed messages and only give succour to those seeking to sow hatred and division,” the five MPs said.

News

Federal judge bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote

Published

on

Federal judge bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote

A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban.

Casper rejected the Republican administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be put in place. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.

The Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” wrote Casper.

Among other proposed changes, Trump’s order would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money.

Advertisement

In a statement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was grateful the court had blocked Trump’s “unconstitutional attempt to seize control of our elections” and would continue to defend voting rights in this year’s midterm elections.

“Generations of Americans fought tirelessly for the right to vote, and we honor their legacy by protecting that right against anyone who tries to undermine it,” said James, a Democrat.

A voter casts a ballot during New York’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Advertisement

Advertisement

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state was the lead plaintiff in the case, said the ruling reaffirmed the constitutional principle that it s up to the states and Congress to set election rules.

“While we are proud of this result, we are clear-eyed that President Trump’s attacks on voting rights and our elections show no signs of slowing down,” Bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement. “So let me be clear: we will keep fighting back every step of the way.”

Requests for comment sent to the White House and he U.S. Department of Justice were not immediately returned.

The ruling was the latest in a series against the elections executive order Trump signed just months after taking office for his second term. The Republican president has since signed another executive order on elections that seeks to create a national voter list and limit mail balloting. That directive also faces multiple legal challenges.

Advertisement

Last fall, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., overseeing a separate challenge to the first election executive order by civil rights and Democratic Party-aligned groups blocked the government from taking steps to include the proof-of-citizenship requirement on the federal voter registration form. That judge later barred Trump’s defense secretary from requiring documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.

In an apparent nod to the difficulty of implementing a proof-of-citizen requirement by executive order, Trump is pushing legislation in the Republican-controlled Congress to create such a mandate. The SAVE America Act has passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, leading Trump to advocate for eliminating the filibuster that is blocking the legislation.

On Wednesday, he abruptly canceled the expected signing of a bipartisan housing bill, saying he would not sign legislation until Congress passes his proof of citizenship requirement for voting.

The president and many of his Republican allies have been promoting the narrative that voting by noncitizens is a major problem, when in fact it’s quite rare. The federal voter registration form already requires people to attest that they are U.S. citizens. Violating that is punishable as a felony that can lead to prison or deportation.

In another major voting case, the U.S. Supreme Court is due to issue an opinion soon on whether mail ballots must arrive by Election Day. That could immediately change the rules in 14 states that allow grace periods ranging from days to weeks if the ballots are postmarked by Election Day.

Advertisement

Casper, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, is the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Continue Reading

News

Video: Mamdani Allies Sweep New York Primaries

Published

on

Video: Mamdani Allies Sweep New York Primaries

new video loaded: Mamdani Allies Sweep New York Primaries

transcript

transcript

Mamdani Allies Sweep New York Primaries

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s progressive coalition had a big night on Tuesday. Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez won their Democratic House primaries.

“I see a New York that we can all afford. I see a New York that truly invests in its babies, not bombs.” Reporter: “What’s the first thing you’re looking forward to doing in Congress?” “Well, tomorrow — thank you — I mean, tomorrow morning, you know, I’m going to be back at 26 Federal Plaza doing court watching, and we want to carry that into Congress as well.”

Advertisement
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s progressive coalition had a big night on Tuesday. Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez won their Democratic House primaries.

By Julie Yoon

June 24, 2026

Continue Reading

News

Appeals court allows Trump administration expanded use of speedy deportations

Published

on

Appeals court allows Trump administration expanded use of speedy deportations

A massive 826,780-square-foot warehouse sits illuminated Feb. 12, 2026, in the El Paso suburb of Socorro, Texas, that was recently purchased by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for $122.8 million.

Morgan Lee/AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

Morgan Lee/AP

A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to resume carrying out speedy deportations of undocumented migrants throughout the United States, not just near the border.

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a lower court decision that temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s expanded use of expedited removal. The ruling was a big victory for the Republican administration, which views the expansion of so-called expedited removal as a key tool for carrying out its mass deportation policy.

Expedited removal — quick deportation without a chance to appear before a judge — has previously been applied to migrants arriving by sea or caught at or near the border shortly after crossing.

Advertisement

In January, Trump expanded its use to undocumented migrants all over the United States. Immigration agents began whisking migrants away from courthouses where they had gone for immigration proceedings and then removing them from the country within days.

“The Trump administration’s push for fast-track deportations will subject people to an unfair and error-prone system,” Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement.

Balakrishnan represented plaintiffs in arguments before the appellate panel and said its ruling “undermines the fundamental principle that people receive due process when the government seeks to deport them.”

DC Circuit Judge Justin R. Walker, one of the judges on the panel, said the plaintiffs had not shown the expanded use of expedited removal violated due process rights. Immigrants received notice of removal proceedings and were given a chance to respond, he wrote in his opinion.

Walker and the second judge in the majority, Neomi Rao, were appointed by Trump. The third judge on the panel was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Advertisement

Walker said there was no requirement that the administration inform immigrants that they can avoid expedited removal if they can show they have been in the United States for more than two years.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending