No complacency over riots coming to Wales, says FM

Violent attacks, looting of businesses and buildings being set alight have all occurred in towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland

Wales' new first minister has said she is "not complacent" about the possibility of riots coming to Wales.

Mass disorder broke out across England and Northern Ireland after false information spread across social media claiming the suspect in the murder of three children in Southport was an asylum seeker.

Cardiff-born Axel Muganwa Rudakubana has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murders and possession of a curved kitchen knife.

"We are a society and a nation that should be welcoming people... we cannot let those people who are determined to be destructive within our communities to get a hold," Eluned Morgan said.

Ms Morgan officially became Wales' first female first minister on Tuesday, after the Senedd was recalled to vote in a replacement for Vaughan Gething.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, she said she had spoken to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday evening regarding the riots - one of her first duties as first minister.

"I am very concerned about it and I’m certainly not complacent about the possibility of that happening in Wales, which is why I have already asked for a meeting to be set up with the police and some community leaders," she said.

"I spoke to Keir Starmer about this last night and, clearly, policing is not a devolved issue so we do need to keep in close contact with them."

Posting to X, formerly known as Twitter, ex-Member of the Senedd for Plaid Cymru Bethan Sayed said Wales was "not immune" to the attitudes and views being channelled in the outbreaks of violence.

She said a friend of her husband, who was from India, had recently been verbally abused while at a Cardiff petrol station.

"Guys came out of a car and went up to him as he was taking petrol, shouting, screaming at him to go home. He's so scared now," she wrote.

Eluned Morgan says she is working closely with the UK Labour government in light of recent violent protests across the UK

Ms Morgan emphasised there was "no place for racism within our communities".

She added: "I think we have got to listen to communities and be sensitive to their needs, but there is a line where we must be intolerant of intolerance.

"And that is a line I will not be prepared to cross."

Sir Keir promised communities they would be kept safe after he chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on Tuesday night.

It is understood there are at least 30 potential gatherings planned for Wednesday that police are aware of.

The prime minister praised the "robust and swift response" of the criminal justice system and said it should "send a very powerful message" to those considering further violence.

Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, said: "The behaviour of those people who seek to incite division, spread mistruths and pitch different groups of people against each other is beyond contempt."

She added while there had been no reports of violence in Wales, "we should all be mindful of the potential for racist and Islamophobic hatred to blight our communities and challenge those attitudes when they arise".

Andrew RT Davies MS, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: "Thuggery is completely unacceptable, and all those responsible must face harsh punishment."