A watchdog chief has warned the UK is at a “time of national emergency” and there is “every possibility” that violence seen last summer with the Southport riots could happen again this summer.
Following the murder of three little girls at a Taylor-Swift themed dance event on 29 July 2024 riots broke out and spread across parts of England at community centres, libraries, mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers were all attacked.
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services Sir Andy Cooke wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that the police must “not be caught off guard again.”
Sir Andy warned the “tools that amplified hatred last summer remain largely unchanged and unregulated,” still today and with thousands more migrants in the UK in 2025, parts of England are a breading ground for further disorder.
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Air Andy said, “The police service should not be caught off-guard again. There is every possibility that similar violence could reoccur.
“Online misinformation continues to spread. Community tensions persist. The tools that amplified hatred last summer remain largely unchanged and unregulated.
“The police service must modernise its understanding of how disorder develops and spreads in the digital age.”
The watchdog reviewed last summers disorder and the police response, they found there was “critical gaps that left forces unprepared for the scale and nature of the violence they faced”, Sir Andy explained.
He then explained that social media platforms “amplified false narratives and incited participation at a pace that traditional policing approaches simply could not match”.
He added, “The police service hasn’t kept pace with the fast-developing nature of online communications. And forces were not equipped to deal with the repercussions as the disorder rapidly unfolded. The national mobilisation plan was activated too late.
“Intelligence systems failed to adequately predict the rising threat. Most concerning of all, forces had not learnt sufficiently from previous instances of disorder, including the need to react to changing public sentiment.
“At a time of national emergency, the police intelligence strategy – necessary for forces to respond effectively – should be clear and obvious to all.”
He said it is “vital” police forces learn from the events that have previously occurred and “strengthen their response to future instances of disorder to make sure the public are kept safe.”
