British prime minister announces policing plan to deal with violence after fatal stabbings of girls

London, Aug 1 (AP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “tiny mindless minority” behind unrest that has plagued several cities after a horrific stabbing at a children's dance class and vowed to put a stop to it as the 17-year-old suspect was publicly named Thursday in part to counter misinformation blamed as one cause of the fiery clashes.
    Starmer said the violence was “clearly driven by far-right hatred” as he announced a plan to enable police to move between communities — just as the “gang of thugs” does. Officers will more easily be able to share intelligence and use facial recognition technology and other tools to prevent the kind of outbursts that have sent scores of police to the hospital the past two nights.
    “This is coordinated; this is deliberate," he said. "This is not a protest that has got out of hand. It is a group of individuals who are absolutely bent on violence.”
    The announcement came after police in several cities were pelted with bottles by crowds apparently reacting to the stabbing Monday that killed three and wounded 10.
    The announcement came as the teen charged with murdering three girls and stabbing 10 other people made his first appearance and was named in court partly to counter misinformation about his identity that has been blamed for triggering violent protests across England.
    Judge Andrew Menary said his decision to allow Axel Rudakubana to be named was exceptional given the boy's age. But he said the teen will lose his right to anonymity when he turns 18 next week and continuing to shield his identity could allow false information about his name and immigration status to metastasize.
    “Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum,” Menary said in Liverpool Crown Court.
    The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare. The deaths have been used by far-right activists to stoke anger at immigrants and Muslims — though the suspect is not an immigrant, and his religion has not been disclosed. (AP) ZH
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)