Sir Keir Starmer has announced a ‘support package’ for Southport after returning to the town for the second time since Monday’s knife attack.
After holding private meetings with community leaders and emergency services staff, the Prime Minister said it had been ‘truly inspiring to hear of all the ways in which people have come together in the face of such horrors to demonstrate true bravery, resilience and solidarity’.
He added: ‘I cannot begin to imagine the pain that people are going through right now, but I am determined to make sure that Southport and its leaders have all the support they need to preserve and nurture this strength of community spirit – not just in the immediate aftermath, but also in the years to come.’
The measures announced on Friday included mental health support for those affected, and a programme of events and activities to help ‘build community cohesion and bolster local resilience’ in the longer term.
It was the Prime Minister’s second visit to the town this week, having travelled there on Tuesday to lay flowers at the scene of the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday which left three girls dead.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech during a press conference, following clashes after the Southport stabbing, at 10 Downing street in central London, Britain on Thursday
Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram (L) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) arrive to lay flowers at the scene of a stabbing attack on Hart Street in Southport, Britain, 30 July 2024. Merseyside Police have confirmed that a third child, aged 9, has died as a result of a knife attack in Southport and confirmed that the other two victims were ages six and seven
After meeting community leaders alongside metro mayor Steve Rotheram and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, Sir Keir visited Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool to thank staff for their work responding to the attack.
Many of those injured in Monday’s attack were treated at the hospital, and Sir Keir praised staff’s hard work and professionalism.
Mr Rotheram thanked the Prime Minister for giving a ‘personal commitment’ to support Southport.
He said: ‘The horrendous events of Tuesday have caused untold shock and horror across the whole country but has left Southport struggling to come to terms with such a tragedy on its doorstep.
‘Once the glare of the national media has moved on, it leaves behind a community that needs to come together and rebuild.
‘This is a tight-knit area and we have already seen that inclusivity and community on full display in the town’s response to the mindless violence on Tuesday night.
‘It will not happen overnight, but we are determined to restore trust, build on that remarkable resilience – and, above all, ensure that Bebe, Elsie and Alice, and the victims and those traumatised, are never forgotten.’
Since Monday, Southport has been rocked by violent unrest inspired by false claims about the suspect’s identity that spread on social media.
That unrest has spread to other parts of the country, with police on Friday bracing for more outbreaks in the coming days.
People arrive to meet Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss clashes following the Southport stabbing at Downing Street in London, Britain August 1
Policing leaders arrive in Downing Street, for a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on August 01, 2024 in London, England. The meeting and subsequent press conference followed two nights of unrest after the killing of three young girls in a knife attack in Southport
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, second left, holds a meeting at 10 Downing street in London, England on Thursday
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with senior policing leaders during a meeting in Downing Street, London, following scenes of violent unrest in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Manchester in the wake of the killing of three young girls in a knife attack
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister was repeatedly asked ‘how many more children will die?’ as he placed flowers at the scene of the Southport knife rampage.
During the Labour leader’s brief visit, which lasted around two minutes, some members of the public began heckling him with one man declaring ‘here’s your photo opportunity’ as he walked past.
Other furious onlookers shouted ‘scumbag’, ‘time for change’ and ‘go away, you’re not wanted’.
Another woman said: ‘I’ve just found out my friend’s nine-year-old daughter was killed, the person I’ve held as a child, and you can’t do s***.’
And a different man shouted: ‘Get the truth out!’
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrives with a floral tribute to the child victims of a knife attack on Tuesday
Merseyside police had issued a warning after an ‘incorrect’ name for the alleged Southport attacker was widely circulated online.
Inaccurate posts by social media sleuths about the identity of the perpetrator received millions of views and engagements, as Downing Street warned against ‘unhelpful’ speculation amid concerns that misreporting online could inflame community tensions.
Mr Rotheram has expressed concern that there could be further violence in the Liverpool City Region, but added: ‘We know exactly what we’d need to do to ensure that these things are nipped in the bud.’
On Thursday, the Prime Minister condemned ‘far-right hatred’ in the wake of the Southport stabbings as he announced a new ‘national’ response to the violent disorder.
Sir Keir said: ‘The far right are showing who they are – we have to show who we are in response to that.’
Alice Aguiar, nine, died in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday following the attack
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died on Monday as nine other children and two adult women were rushed to hospital
Six-year-old Bebe King was pronounced dead shortly after the attack in Southport on Monday
