London: Britain's King Charles III on Tuesday travelled to Southport in northern England to pay tribute to victims and families of those affected by a mass stabbing that sparked violent riots and racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants in the region. A 17-year-old went on a stabbing spree last month, claiming the lives of three girls outside a Taylor Swift-themed dance club, which sparked riots when it was reported that the suspect was a Muslim immigrant.
On a visit to Southport, the town where the attack took place, Charles met some of the surviving children and their families, before later meeting representatives from local emergency services and community groups. He was welcomed by cheering crowds as he came to look at flowers and toys in tribute to the slain children - Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9.
Charles has praised the community spirit, compassion and resilience that countered aggression and criminality from the rioters, and said he hoped mutual respect and understanding would continue to unite the nation. The 17-year-old male, who the police said was born in Britain, was charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one of possession of a bladed article.
Far-right riots in UK
The violence erupted on May 30 after social media posts said the suspected attacker in Southport, who fatally stabbed three girls and injured 10 others, was a radical Islamist who had just arrived in Britain and was known to intelligence services. However, police said the 17-year-old suspect was born in Britain and they are not treating it as a terrorist incident. The suspect's parents had moved to Britain from Rwanda.
Protests, mostly involving a few hundred people, had spread across the country, with shops looted and mosques and Asian-owned businesses attacked. Cars have been set on fire and some unverified videos on social media have shown ethnic minorities being beaten up. After days of rioting, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said extra police numbers and swift justice had deterred people he referred to as "far-right thugs".
Ending his silence on the matter, Charles called for mutual respect and understanding while thanking the police for their efforts to restore, according to a Buckingham Palace on Friday. The spokesperson said the King thanked police and emergency services for their efforts to restore peace and welcomed the way that community groups had countered "the aggression and criminality from a few... It remains His Majesty's hope that shared values of mutual respect and understanding will continue to strengthen and unite the nation". The monarch also held telephonic talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and police chiefs.
Over 1,000 arrests in recent riots
Charles also met police, paramedics and other emergency service workers who responded to the attack and the disorder that followed. This is UK's worst unrest in more than a decade led to some 1,100 arrests. The government pledged that rioters who hurled bricks at police, looted shops and attacked mosques and hotels used to house asylum-seekers would feel “the full force of the law.”
India, Australia, and Nigeria were among the countries that issued warnings on Monday to citizens who were residents of or travelling to Britain. Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, was accused of being a Muslim immigrant and a radical Islamist behind the fatal stabbings of three girls outside a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29. However, police said he was born in Wales in 2006 and moved to the Southport area in 2013.
(with inputs from agencies)
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