In addition to announcing the review, the home secretary charged that the rioters were “hijacking grief” when they took to the streets following the tragic stabbings of three young girls in Southport.
In addition, she promised “thousands more” neighborhood police and support personnel as one of the five “next steps” to strengthen ties within the community.
“While millions of decent people across the country were praying for bereaved families,” Ms. Cooper stated in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, “a criminal minority of thugs and extremists saw only an opportunity to hijack a town’s grief.”
On July 29, Bebe King, age six, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, age nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, age seven, died in the Merseyside town while taking a dance lesson with a Taylor Swift theme.
False online rumors that the culprit was an asylum seeker who landed in the UK by sea caused the violence to break out.
“I have ordered a rapid review of extremism to ensure we have the strongest possible response to poisonous ideologies that corrode community cohesion and fray the fabric of our democracy,” she said, asserting that there hasn’t been a suitable strategy in place since 2015.
