Courts will reportedly sit for 24-hours a day in the wake of far-right violence sweeping across the country.
Ministers met with senior members of the judiciary for emergency talks on Saturday as the far-right clashed with police and counter-protesters in major UK cities and towns.
Violence broke out between groups in places such as Sunderland, Manchester, Stoke and Hull as shocking footage showed people throwing bricks at police in Liverpool, where two officers were hospitalised, one with a suspected broken jaw and another with a broken nose.
Officials at the Ministry of Justice are now understood to be in discussions with the judiciary, police chiefs and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), about magistrates’ courts sitting for 24 hours to deal with a surge of arrests, The Telegraph reported.
The paper said this would involve triggering the Additional Courts Protocol, which would have to be agreed on by the judiciary. Requests for more court slots and extended hours must be made in agreement with the relevant Chief Officer of Police and Chief Crown Prosecutor.
The protocol was previously used following the 2011 London riots which saw courts sit for 24 hours to process those in custody.
Saturday marked another day of rioting thought to have been sparked by misinformation around the killing of three girls in Southport on Monday.
In Liverpool, far-right thugs pelted officers with bricks and bottles who in return used tear gas as they struggled to keep apart protesters and counter-protesters.
Merseyside Police said a number of officers were injured during the confrontations and condemned the “despicable behaviour”.
Bricks were thrown at officers in Stoke-on-Trent, fireworks were thrown in exchanges between an anti-Islamic group and an anti-racism rally in Belfast and windows of a hotel which has been used to house migrants were smashed in Hull.
Scuffles broke out as opposing groups faced each other in Nottingham, with bottles thrown from both sides, and chants of “England ’til I die” and “Tommy Robinson” drowned out by boos from the anti-racism counter-protesters
Home secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the “thuggery” and “criminal disorder” that has followed in the wake of the tragic Southport stabbings, warning that anyone involved in the ongoing violence “will pay the price”.
“Criminal violence and disorder has no place on Britain’s streets,” she said on Saturday afternoon following the clashes.
Ms Cooper said perpetrators face arrests, prosecution, financial penalties, imprisonment and travel bans to ensure that communities can feel safe.
