Boy, 12, becomes youngest person to be convicted over violent riots in wake of Southport stabbings

A group some 1,000 members strong had descended on a mosque in Southport after false rumours about the alleged attacker's name began spreading online.

And the 12-year-old joins 29 other people already charged over the disorder in Southport alone - with hundreds more facing charges or arrest nationwide.

Another 12-year-old boy pleaded guilty to two charges of violent disorder today - this time at Manchester City Magistrates' Court.

On July 31, the child had kicked a bus - and was seen giving a rock to another minor as a mob came together outside a Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers, the court heard.

Then, on August 3, the same youth had been caught on camera by officers kicking the window of a vape shop, as well as throwing a "missile" at a police van.

District Judge Joanne Hirst said his case was "very serious", and drew attention to the fact it was the first time she had dealt with somebody "attending both incidents" of disorder.

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Though Natasha McGarr, defending, said the 12-year-old - who has been remanded to local authority accommodation before his September 2 sentencing, was "very sorry" and "absolutely ashamed" of his behaviour.

The two minors' court appearances came as police chiefs confirmed over 975 arrests have been made and 546 charges have been brought since July 29 in the wake of the country-wide disorder.

Then on Monday evening, police in Northern Ireland confirmed they had charged an 11-year-old boy "in connection with disorder" in south Belfast on July 15.

The child, just a year older than the minimal age of criminal responsibility, has been charged with riot, three counts of possessing petrol bombs in suspicious circumstances, and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

And the Prime Minister has publicly backed the police's mass crackdown, telling the country last week that officers had his "full support" in taking action against "extremists" trying to "sow hate" and intimidating "minority communities".

Sir Keir Starmer, in a televised address, said: "People in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we've seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques.

"Other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric, so no, I won't shy away from calling it what it is: far-right thuggery."

And though the majority of the violence appears to have simmered down, the PM maintained that police should remain on "high alert".

But Starmer's stance in the aftermath of the riots has come under fire from Boris Johnson, who claimed "nothing excuses" the PM's alleged failure to understand public concerns over immigration.

Johnson said: "Nothing excuses a government that seems deaf to public concerns, and that suggests, moreover, that they actively dislike all members of the public who share those concerns."