DISGRACEFUL SCENES
Violent mob clashes with cops & hurl flares at gates of Downing Street 24hrs after riots sparked by Southport stabbing
Officers were pictured putting on riot gear as demonstrators chanted and threw cans and glass bottles
ONE thousand protesters clashed with cops outside Downing Street just 24 hours after riots were sparked in Southport.
Some demonstrators launched flares near the Prime Minister's residence as tensions boiled over in the wake of the horror stabbings on Monday.
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Officers wielding shields were forced to push hundreds of demonstrators away as they slung around a dozen glass bottles towards the police.
Footage shared on social media from London on Wednesday night showed flares lit in the street as members of the crowd chanted "save our kids" loudly and waved national flags.
Other protesters attempted to kick down a fence and were confronted by riot police while some set off firecrackers sparking loud bangs.
Large crowds were seen holding their fists in the air with numerous police vans lined up in front of The Cenotaph.
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Rioters were pushed away from the gates of No.10 as cops kettled two groups of the mob around 50 yards from the Cenotaph.
But shield-wielding officers were still hit by glass bottles as they advanced — sparking further arrests as far-right activists were hauled into assembled police vans.
Over 100 people were arrested for offences including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions.
The force were seen leading many people away in handcuffs as a police helicopter scoured the area from above.
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Police arrested a man wearing a balaclava near to Downing Street as the violent scenes continue in the capital.
Officers were seen wrestling the man off the road and onto the pavement.
The demonstration named 'Enough is Enough' saw attendees told that they can only protest in Whitehall between 7pm and 8.30pm.
Superintendent Neil Holyoak, who led the policing operation, said: “Following the tragic events in Southport, it is understandable the public have strong feelings about this shocking incident - but the subsequent violent, unlawful disorder that unfolded was completely unacceptable and driven by misinformation.
“Everyone has a right to protest and we continue to balance the right to lawful protest with everyone’s right to go about their lives without fear or serious disruption - which is why we have put conditions in place and deployed more officers across London.
“We are speaking to the protest organisers as well as local community groups, businesses and religious leaders, in particular the Muslim community who have been impacted by this week’s disorder in Southport.
“I urge everyone to exercise their right to protest calmly and within the law. Any disorder will be dealt with swiftly.”
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Earlier, the Metropolitan Police placed conditions on the protest, stating demonstrators had to stay within a certain area and disperse by 8.30pm.
But protesters old The Sun they would stay “all night” despite the conditions dictating they should have already left.
Cops began arresting 100 protesters who staged a “sit-in” outside the Cenotaph one-by-one on Tuesday night.
Each activist who turned down an offer to leave the march was led to a police van by three officers.
Meanwhile another protest in Hartlepool, in the North East, has kicked off with rioters clashing with cops.
Footage posted online showed police dogs being deployed among the crowd.
Other yobs hurled bricks and bottles at officers who stood firm with shields and batons.
After the violence in the capital, police and emergency services were deployed on standby in Southport.
Police vans, cars and horses were out in the town in preparation of any disturbances that might happen following the chaos on Tuesday night.
Tuesday's riots in Southport saw protesters try and attack a mosque with police vehicles set ablaze.
Cops suffered serious injuries when bricks, stones and bottles were thrown in chaotic scenes.
Merseyside Police said more than 50 officers were injured amid the disorder.
The rioting followed a frenzied stabbing attack in Southport on Monday at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
The attack saw Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, fatally stabbed.
Speculation about the alleged attacker's identity circulated online, seeing the tension that already existed after Monday's horrific attack explode into riots.
Despite social media claims, cops stressed that the suspect was born in Cardiff.
The mum of Elsie Stancombe - one of three victims so far from the attack - had condemned the violence and urged protesters to stop.
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In a message widely shared online, Jenni Stancombe said: "This is the only thing that I will write, but please stop the violence in Southport tonight.
"The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don't need this."
'Social media to blame for fake news'
By Imran Ahmed
After we heard the first shocking reports that children had been stabbed in Southport, we went to social media to try and find out the truth – who did this and why?
But the problem with our reliance on social media as a source of information is that all platforms are designed in ways that show us lies first and the truth last.
Journalists working for a newspaper or broadcaster try to tell us what they can prove, which can be unclear in the immediate wake of a tragedy.
Social media platforms, instead, look at how much engagement their posts get.
That’s because they don’t actually care about the value to society of that information, rather the value to them.
Let’s be clear, social media companies are to blame. They let people break their rules with impunity.
The reason they do this is simple: hate and lies are big business for social media.
That’s how the truth loses, and the lies of extremists and weirdos enter the mainstream.
Social media companies pretend this is complicated, but the basic solutions are simple.
First, we need to force these companies to come clean on how their algorithms boost dangerous lies.
Second, we need to hold them accountable with fines and penalties.
American social media giants are to blame for this chaos. It's them, not the people of Southport, who should be paying for the cleanup and coppers’ medical bills.
Before anyone could report the truth in Stockport, selfish and cynical losers were using social media to exploit this tragedy and push hateful lies.
With zero evidence, they claimed that Muslims were behind the attack and that the police were hiding the truth.
And they know that the more outrageous the lie, the more people will see it.
The consequences were plain to see, as gangs of thugs descended on Southport, shamefully using the deaths of three young girls to whip up hate and attack the police.
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