“`html
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has identified deprivation, excessive time spent online, and immigration as factors contributing to weakened social cohesion within the United Kingdom.
Presenting the findings of a year-long study, commissioned following a wave of unrest across the UK triggered by the murders of three girls in Southport, the Deputy Prime Minister urged ministers to address the “real concerns” of the public to restore trust.
Downing Street has indicated that the forthcoming study will serve as the foundation for the Plan for Neighbourhoods, a government initiative committing £1.5 billion in investment across 75 of the UK’s “most deprived” areas over the next decade.
Rayner’s remarks precede the first anniversary of the Southport attack, which falls on July 29.
Axel Rudakubana is currently serving a life sentence for the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, committed during an attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
The incident also resulted in serious injuries to eight other girls and two adults who intervened to stop the perpetrator.
The public outcry following the killings escalated into widespread rioting on July 30, fueled by misinformation falsely claiming that Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, was a migrant.
The initial riot swiftly spurred further violent unrest across the country, leading to over 600 arrests by law enforcement.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the riots as acts of “far-right thuggery,” noting that crowds had targeted mosques and accommodations housing asylum seekers.
Speaking on Tuesday, Rayner indicated that 17 of the 18 areas most severely impacted by the unrest were among the most economically disadvantaged in the UK.
“While Britain remained a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the government had to demonstrate it had a plan to address people’s concerns and provide opportunities for everyone to flourish,” she cautioned.
According to a summary of the Cabinet meeting, Rayner told her colleagues that “Economic insecurity, the rapid pace of de-industrialisation, immigration and the impacts on local communities and public services, technological change and the amount of time people were spending alone online, and declining trust in institutions was having a profound impact on society.”
Rayner stated that it was “incumbent on the government to acknowledge the real concerns people have and to deliver improvements to people’s lives and their communities,” the readout added.
Sir Keir Starmer affirmed that the country would never forget the “unimaginable tragedy” of the “horrific” Southport attacks.
This week, the government unveiled details of plans to impose life sentences on suspects found to be preparing mass killings in an effort to prevent Southport style attacks from happening again.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that the criminal justice system required new tools to address violence-fixated individuals not motivated by a particular ideology.
Cooper told the BBC that the government will “close the gap” between such offenders and lone, violence-obsessed individuals by giving police the power to apprehend them long before they can act.
On Sunday, police arrested six people in connection with a protest outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Essex that has been running since Thursday.
Bottles and smoke flares were thrown towards police vehicles during the demonstration which saw more than 1,000 people gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping.
The protests followed the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker over an alleged sexual assault on a girl.
The disorder followed the arrest and charge of an asylum seeker last week on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults in the town.
Downing Street previously said the scenes at Epping were “unacceptable”.
Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
The UK suspended dozens of arms licences to Israel last year, but many say the measures do not go far enough.
Two Ukrainian men are charged with plotting to facilitate illegal immigration.
The restaurant was raided by Home Office officials last September and later fined £90,000.
Fake passport dealers and firms which sell small boats could also be hit with financial sanctions under government plans.
Two Ukrainian crew and five passengers are detained on suspicion of immigration offences.
“`