After a week of protests that turned into riots, the UK had a relatively quiet night on August 6, but thousands of police in the "foggy country" were still ready to face a new wave of violence.

Police are monitoring threats of further rioting and have reported at least 30 possible gatherings and threats against immigration law professionals on August 7, Sky News reported.

Earlier on 6 August, two 38-year-old men were charged with violent disorder in connection with unrest in Southport and Liverpool. Elsewhere, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said it would investigate a number of racially motivated hate crimes in Belfast, including an attack on a boy on 6 August.

UK police have faced a week of unrest sparked by false claims about the identity of the suspect in the Southport knife attack. Photo: The Independent

Around 6,000 special police officers will be on standby this weekend as a “standing army”, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on August 5. These police officers are being deployed to deal with the ongoing chaos caused by protests.

More than 400 people have been arrested and about 100 have been charged in connection with the riots. The defendants are expected to appear in court this week.

"That will send a very strong message to anyone involved, in person or online, that they will likely be dealt with within a week and that no one, no one should be involved in this chaos," Mr Starmer said late on 6 August after holding an emergency meeting, known as COBRA meeting.

Riots and unrest have rocked towns and cities across the UK over the past week. The riots began in Southport on 30 July - a day after three young girls were murdered in a knife attack in the town of Southport, Merseyside, in the north-west of the country.

Violent protesters, many of whom came from outside the town, threw bricks at police and into a local mosque, setting fires and throwing bottles, injuring more than 50 police officers.

Many of the rioters were far-right supporters, police said at the time, and the escalating violence since has been described by Prime Minister Starmer as “thuggish behaviour”.

Since then, protests have been held in London, Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Bolton and Northern Ireland among others.

A 17-year-old from Cardiff was arrested in the incident, but because he was under 18, Merseyside Police were initially unable to name him.

False claims began circulating online, such as that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in Britain after crossing the English Channel in a small boat last year. The suspect was given the name "Ali al Shakati".

As misinformation and false speculation spread online, a court lifted the anonymity requirement and the suspect was named as Axel Rudakubana – born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents.

Rudakubana appeared in court charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed object.

According to CGTN television network, some people said they watched the riots unfold live on platforms and social networks such as TikTok and X. Adding to the noise on social media, billionaire Elon Musk joined the debate.

A widely circulated WhatsApp message named a number of locations across the UK to take action on 7 August, including immigration law offices and refugee charities.

All of which has raised concerns about the role of social media in spreading further violence.

Minh Duc (According to Sky News, CGTN)