The Southport stabbing

39 police officers were injured during the riot in Southport

39 police officers were injured in the riot in the English city of Southport on Tuesday evening. Eight of them suffered serious injuries such as concussions and fractures, writes the BBC.

Police Chief Alex Goss says the rioters used "strong violence". The far-right group English Defense League is believed to have been behind the unrest.

The violence started after incorrect information about Monday's fatal stabbing spread on social media. According to the rumours, the perpetrator was Muslim and an asylum seeker, writes The Times. But the 17-year-old was born in Great Britain and according to Sky News, there are no indications that he is Muslim either.

"Those who have hijacked the victims' vigilance with violence and hooliganism have insulted society while it mourns," writes Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X.

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The minister furious: "Thugs who show no respect for a grieving society"

Tuesday evening's attacks on the mosque in the English city of Southport and on the police officers at the scene are "disgusting", says British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, according to The Times.

- The thugs on the streets show no respect for a grieving society, she says.

Several police officers are injured after the stone-throwing and violence.

Yvette Cooper urges people to show respect for the police who "showed such heroism" in connection with the fatal stabbing on Monday and who are now conducting a very important police investigation, writes the BBC.

The riot started after the incorrect name of an alleged perpetrator was widely circulated on social media. Those who protested at the site are believed to belong to the far-right movement EDL.

The only things police have said about the 17-year-old is that he lives in the nearby village of Banks, that he previously lived in Cardiff and that he was born in the UK. The motive for the act is unclear, but it is not being investigated as terrorism. There is "nothing to suggest that the perpetrator would be Muslim", writes Sky.