Six Countries Issue U.K. Travel Warnings Amid Riots

Over the past week, nearly 400 people have been arrested for violently rioting in parts of England and Northern Ireland, causing six countries to issue travel warnings for the area. 

Australia is telling its citizens to “exercise a high degree of caution” when visiting the United Kingdom. The UAE, Nigeria, Malaysia, India, and Indonesia have also issued new U.K. travel warnings due to the incidents.  

The United States and Canada have not released updated travel advisories for the U.K., though both countries had already been urging travelers to exercise “increased caution” due to terrorism threats. 

Following the riots, the U.K.’s National Police Chiefs’ Council said that a “united and robust policing response is in place across the country,” and 378 people have been arrested. Photos of the mayhem show smoke, fires, and police in riot gear. Dozens of police officers have been injured.  

Rioters took to the streets after a 17-year-old attacked children at a dance class with a knife in Southport, a small town near Liverpool, leaving three dead and eight wounded on July 29. Though the perpetrator was born and raised in Britain, social media rumors claimed he immigrated to the country. Protesters expressed anti-immigration and Islamophobic sentiments during the riots. 

The unrest began on July 30 when violent protesters clashed with police in Southport, England. Those riots spread to several towns and cities over the following days, including Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds, Belfast, London, and others, as recently as Monday evening. 

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the protests “far-right thuggery,” and said: “This is not protest, it is pure violence. We will have a standing army of public duty officers. We will ramp up criminal justice. We will apply criminal law online as well as offline. We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities.”