Humza Yousaf has called on the Home Secretary to proscribe the English Defence League (EDL) as a terrorist organisation after hundreds of activists believed to be linked to the far-right group wreaked havoc on the streets of Southport.
Police officers suffered serious injuries when bricks, stones and bottles were thrown and cars were set alight during violent protests outside a local mosque following a vigil for three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all fatally stabbed in Southport on Monday, while a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder.
READ MORE: Three children killed in Southport knife attack named
Merseyside Police said “a large group of people – believed to be supporters of the English Defence League” – began to throw items such as bricks towards the mosque in the seaside town at about 7.45pm.
Elsie’s mother, Jenni Stancombe, wrote on Facebook: “This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight.
“The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.”
Some 27 officers taken to hospital, with 12 others being treated and discharged at the scene, North West Ambulance Service said.
Misinformation about the Southport attacker has been spread on a number of social media platforms, with conspiracies about a link to Islam.
The only details released about the suspect by police are that he is a 17-year-old from the village of Banks in Lancashire and that he was born in Cardiff.
The BBC has reported that his parents are from Rwanda and that he has no known links to Islam.
While police say the motive is unclear, they do not believe it is terror-related.
READ MORE: Nearly 40 police officers injured in Southport violent disorder
In a letter, Mr Yousaf urged the new Home Secretary to “show courage” and “do the right thing and proscribe the English Defence League and their proxies.”
That would make it a criminal offence to belong to support the group.
In his letter to Yvette Cooper, the former first minister said the group of far-right bigots had hijacked “the killing of children for their nefarious purposes.”
Violence targeting police officers, the public, and mosques, all to drive forward the far-right's hateful ideology.
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) July 31, 2024
Rhetoric is not enough.
We need to take action against the far-right. I have asked the Home Secretary to use her powers to proscribe the English Defence League. pic.twitter.com/9orWrKUiop
He said this was “not the first time this group and their offshoots have been involved in attacking the police, violent disorder, and peddling hatred.”
“It is time we took on the English Defence League and the evil ideology that drives them.”
Mr Yousaf said the group’s action would be caught under the legal definition of terrorism.
“There can be no doubt that the EDL meet these criteria. They have, on several occasions orchestrated serious violence to both intimidate the public and attempt to influence government, while being driven by a racist, white supremacist ideology.”
READ MORE: Teenager arrested after two children die and six critical in Southport stabbing
The ex-SNP leader Britain has “a far-right problem.”
He added: “We need to acknowledge it, confront deal with it. You are in the unique position to tackle this insidious problem. Proscribing the English Defence League, and therefore making membership of organisation a criminal offence would send an unequivocally strong signal of your intent to take on the far-right and their and Islamophobic ideology.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We do not comment on whether a specific organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.”
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