“We must take action to restore respect for the police and respect for the law”
The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said that the UK has lost their respect for the police after the recent series of riots.
Cooper condemned the “brazen abuse and contempt” officers have faced during a period of unrest across the United Kingdom.
She went on to describe attacks on local communities and police as a “disgraceful assault on the rule of law itself” and demanded respect for the police must be restored after recent events.
Cooper wrote in the Daily Telegraph: ““As home secretary, I am not prepared to tolerate the brazen abuse and contempt which a minority have felt able to show towards our men and women in uniform, or the disrespect for law and order that has been allowed to grow in recent years.
“As well as punishing those responsible for the last fortnight’s violent disorder, we must take action to restore respect for the police and respect for the law.”
She has committed to a continued strong police presence as well as stressed the importance of keeping up arrests and prosecutions.
The Home Security’s comments came at a poignant moment as hundred gathered for the funeral of Alice Da Silva Aguiar who was one of three girls killed in Southport in a mass stabbing at a kids dance class.
The nine-year-old died from her injuries on Tuesday July 30, the day after the attack, which also two more children dead, Elsie Dot Stancombe, age seven, and Bebe King, age six.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, has been charged with the murder of the three girls.
The incident has lead to nationwide unrest and anger boiling over into public disorder and riots.
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Since the riots began, 779 people have been arrested over rioting, of whom 349 have been charged the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has said, with 6000 officers being mobilised across the national to respond to the violence and disorder.
They also explained that specialist officers are currently tracking suspected online offenders and influencers, who they claim hold responsibility for “spreading hate and inciting violence on a large scale”.
Cooper said: “Lots of people across Britain have strong views on law and order, immigration, and the NHS. But they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police, loot shops or wreck cars, attack people because of the colour of their skin, or set light to buildings knowing people are inside.
“The Prime Minister and I made clear to the police at the outset of this disorder that they would have the Government’s full support in taking the strongest possible action against every level of perpetrator.”
Stephen Parkinson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reportedly warned that protesters could face up to 10 years in prison for the worst offenders if charged with rioting.
Parkinson claimed that the prosecution will enter a new phase where stiffer sentences will be given to the worst offenders.
He said: “It’s not about exacting revenge, it’s about delivering justice.”
The Prime Minister has had to cancel plans to leave on a summer holiday in order to aid the government in dealing with rioting aftermath.
