Eighth person arrested following Southport disorder

We can confirm that an eighth person has been arrested as the investigation continues into the violent disorder in Southport earlier this week.

A 32-year-old man from Wigan was arrested today, Friday 2 August, on suspicion of violent disorder and he remains in custody where he will be questioned by detectives.

On Tuesday 30 July, a large group of far-right protesters caused disorder and violence in Southport during an incident that led to more than 50 officers sustaining injuries.

A specialist team are currently reviewing hundreds of hours of footage of the incident so they can identify and arrest anyone involved.

Detective Chief Inspector Tony Roberts said: “The investigation is progressing well as we continue to identify more people involved in the disgraceful scenes in Southport on Tuesday night.

“At a time when the Southport community should have been in mourning following the tragic murders of Bebe, Elsie and Alice, they were instead left feeling in fear of this violent group.

“With more speculation of planned protests in Merseyside, as well as other parts of the country, I want to make it clear that we will leave no stone unturned to arrest anyone involved in such disgraceful disorder.

“I would also like to reiterate the need for people to question the source of information on social media. There is so much misinformation at the moment as people seek to create hatred and division in our communities. Please be mindful of the damage that this can cause and always question the source of information when viewing anything online.

“We would continue to appeal to anyone who has information or video footage of those involved in the shocking disorder on Tuesday night to come forward so we can identify and arrest those responsible.”