UK riots live: police braced for more far-right unrest amid reports of 30 planned gatherings | UK news

Jim McMahon, minister of state for housing, communities and local government, has said that the vast majority of Britons will be going about their everyday life today, but that “there are a tiny minority of people who don’t want it to be a normal day.”

He told viewers of Sky News:

There are a tiny minority of people who don’t want it to be a normal day. Who will want to cause disruption, and who will want to cause violence as a way of progressing their argument.

There is no legitimate reason to go out there and to cause disruption, to cause violence, in the way that we have seen. That is not what people want.

The vast majority of British people are going about their every day business, and want peace, and want for that to be respected.

Speaking on Sky News, Jim McMahon, minister of state for housing, communities and local government, has said the number of police being deployed was an “operational matter”.

Asked whether there had been discussions about mobilising 100% of police who have been trained to deal with riots in the light of suggestions that multiple locations would be targeted by far right groups on Wednesday evening, he said:

Of course the police will do an operational assessment of the threat that has been made, and the intelligence that they have. And they will deploy officers based on that intelligence. It’s for the police to make that operational decision.

What we have said as a government is that we stand absolutely with our police force. We stand with our prosecutors. And we stand with the courts. To make sure that those who do go over the line are dealt with swiftly and efficiently by the system.

Because in the end, people want to see that justice is delivered to those who seek to disrupt and cause harm.

McMahon is Labour MP for Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton.

Asked specifically about suggestions that up to 30 locations were expected to be targets for far-right demonstrations and violence this evening, a government minister has said they need to be “prepared for the eventuality that there may be further unrest and violence.”

Speaking earlier on Sky News, Jim McMahon said:

Clearly we need to be prepared for the eventuality that there may be further unrest and violence. But we of course don’t want it to happen.

We want people to heed the warnings that have been issued. We want people to see the arrests and the charging decisions that have already been made to say that if people do go out and they intend to cause trouble, or they incite other people to cause trouble, they can expect the full force of the law.

Because in the end all of us have the right to live in a community without fear of violence or harassment or intimidation.

Police forces were preparing for potential violence on Wednesday as they monitor reports of at least 30 possible gatherings. A list of solicitors’ firms and advice agencies has been shared in chat groups as possible targets for gatherings, with the message inviting people to “mask up” if they attend.

Tell Mama, a group monitoring Islamophobia in the UK, said it has alerted police and counter-terrorism officials to the “far-right threats”.

The Law Society of England and Wales described such gatherings as a “direct assault on our legal profession”, while Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said threats against solicitors are “unacceptable” and those making them will “join the hundreds of others who have already been arrested by police within the last week”.

Overnight, after a second meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee which the prime minister attended, Keir Starmer said “Obviously it’s a difficult situation with disorder going on in a number of different places at the same time, but that is precisely why I held my second Cobra meeting today to coordinate the response and to get the assurance that I want and need that we do have adequate police in place, that we are able to cope with this disorder.”

More than 400 people have been arrested in connection with the riots and disorder around the country since the Southport stabbings last week, with the number expected to rise in the coming days.

Good morning, and welcome to our ongoing coverage of UK politics and the far-right violence and civil unrest that has been seen across England and Northern Ireland over the last few days. Here are your headlines:

• Police says they are prepared for planned unrest by “hateful and divisive groups” as they monitor reports of at least 30 possible gatherings and threats against immigration law specialists.

• About 100 people have already been charged in connection with the unrest, and charges continued to be brought on Tuesday night, with defendants expected in court on Wednesday. Overnight, two 38-year-old men were charged with violent disorder in connection with disturbances in Southport and Liverpool.

• Police said they are investigating several racially motivated hate crimes in Belfast on Tuesday evening, including an attack on a young boy by a group of youths.

• After a second emergency Cobra meeting, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, said “it’s a difficult situation with disorder going on in a number of different places at the same time, but that is precisely why I held my second Cobra meeting today to coordinate the response and to get the assurance that I want and need that we do have adequate police in place, that we are able to cope with this disorder.”

It is Martin Belam with you for the next few hours. You can get in touch at martin.belam@theguardian.com.