There have been calls to deploy the armed forces to patrol the streets following a week of riots across parts of England and Northern Ireland.
Police were injured during “sustained violence” in Plymouth on Monday, while similar trouble on the streets of Darlington saw officers pelted with bricks.
Six people have, meanwhile, been charged in connection with riots outside a hotel in Rotherham on Sunday, which was being used to house asylum seekers.
Justice minister Heidi Alexander said the Government will bring more than 500 additional prison places into use to deal with rioting, and some 6,000 specialist police officers were at the ready.
But he stopped short of backing calls to deploy the army, and according to Tom Bacon, there could be a good reason why.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter) Bacon points out that bringing armed forces in could play into the hands of the far-right, who are desperate to be perceived as people who are being persecuted by their own rulers.
“Starmer, however, is keen to tell a different story: of a minority of thugs who are causing criminal damage, and who wind up in prison, paying the price for their criminality.”
More suspected rioters have appeared in court on Tuesday following mass disorder across the country over the past week.
A number of people charged with violent disorder have already pleaded guilty to their part in the widespread violence.
Self-employed builder Joshua Simpson became the first person to be convicted following the rioting outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham after he admitted assaulting a police officer.
Sheffield Magistrates Court heard how Simpson, 25, was abusive to police before he kicked a riot shield, forcing it back onto an officer’s leg.
The defendant admitted one count of assault of an emergency worker.
He was remanded in custody by deputy district judge Simon Blakebrough who asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared before he is sentenced on August 27.
Bacon says the big question now is whether the tough action will break the far right groups up before the worse happens.
“I don’t envy the PM right now. I don’t even know if his choices are right. But I think I’m beginning to get it,” he said.
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