Two men are set to be the first to face jail for stirring up racial hatred during the violent unrest that took place in the UK over the last week.

Tyler Kay, from Northampton, called for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set alight in a post shared on X on 7 August.

The 26-year-old has pleaded guilty to publishing material intending to stir up racial hatred and will be sentenced today at Northampton Crown Court.

Jordan Parlour, from Seacroft in Leeds, made online comments advocating an attack on a hotel in Leeds.

The 28-year-old has been convicted of using threatening words or behaviour to stir up racial hatred and will appear at Leeds Crown Court today.

A handful of people have been charged so far for their posts on social media in relation to the violent unrest.

Police are continuing to arrest people in relation to the unrest, with Cheshire Police arresting a woman yesterday who is accused of stirring up racial hatred on social media.

Image source, PA Media

Staying on the topic of the Online Safety Act, minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has just been asked about the government's plans around the legislative framework which he says will remain "under review".

Thomas-Symonds tells the Today programme that some parts of the Online Safety Act are yet to come into effect and the government will be looking at how to make it "most effective" when it comes to getting platforms to remove illegal content.

The minister underlines "if we need to act in relation to online safety laws, we will".

Irrespective of the debate, he notes, for people doing illegal things online now, the police will come after you.

As misinformation spread online is being blamed for contributing to the recent unrest, the Online Safety Act - a divisive new set of regulations aiming to keep children safe online - is being brought to the fore.

The mayor of London - see our earlier post - has called the rules "not fit for purpose" and urged the government to rework them.

At its core, the new rules would put the onus on firms to protect children from some legal but harmful material, with the regulator (Ofcom) being given extra enforcement powers.

It introduces new rules, such as requiring pornography sites to check the ages of its viewers and will force platforms to show they are committed to removing illegal content including child sexual abuse, illegal immigration and people smuggling and terrorism.

Some parents of children who have died after exposure to harmful online content have called the new rules "insufficient" and criticised the delay before they come into force.

Meta and Snapchat have said they already had extra protections for under-18s and highlighted their existing parental tools.

Although the new regulations will only come into force next year, people are already being sentenced under existing laws for spreading content online intended to stir up racial hatred in the context of the riots.

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One of the questions that many people might be asking this week is how sentences for rioters seem to be moving at such a "swift" pace - as the prime minister has described it.

Tana Adkin, chair of the Criminal Bar Association which represents barristers in England and Wales, explains to the Today programme this morning that part of the reason is because offenders have entered guilty pleas.

Judges are responsible for listing cases, she says, and do so in a "conveyor belt" manner.

These cases are not being given priority, she adds, but because there are more officers and people within the Crown Prosecution Service working on the riots, the cases are getting to court "very quickly".

If there's a guilty plea, Adkin explains, the case can be committed to the crown court quickly. And if it's serious, a judge can deal with the matter on "the same day".

"The difficulty comes if the case is not a guilty plea but is a trial because then a lot more work needs to be done," Adkin says.

The waiting time for a trial is currently around 18 months - that's true of any individual allegedly involved in recent disorder as of anyone else.

More now from Thomas-Symonds, who repeatedly draws the distinction between lawful protests and those engaging in "thuggish" or "violent" behaviour.

He speaks of the government's ongoing work to manage small boat crossings on the English Channel - explaining that work is going on now to set up the Border Security Command which will aim at tackling criminal smuggling gangs.

That work is responding to "legitimate concerns" on migration he emphasises, which are "very different from the thugs we are seeing on our streets".

He then shifts his focus to domestic safety, as he highlights specific government funding that is available for the security of mosques.

The government, he says, "stands ready to help" if people would like additional security.

Government minister Nick Thomas-Symonds tells BBC Breakfast this morning that the government is going into the weekend in a "state of high readiness".

He cites the criminal justice system dealing with offenders quickly and specialist police officers being deployed across the country as working to deter further disorder.

Asked whether he is expecting more unrest, he explains everyone has seen various information "and in some cases misinformation" shared online.

He adds that he won't comment on intelligence, but underlines that the government will approach the weekend "prepared for different eventualities".

Image source, EPA

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is urging the government to revisit social media rules, saying the unrest of the last week shows regulations due to come into force were "not fit for purpose".

The new set of regulations, dubbed the Online Safety Act, will - for the first time - make firms legally responsible for keeping users safe when they use their services. The rules are not set to come in until 2025.

The misinformation that circulated online after the stabbings in Southport - which gave an incorrect name and a false story around the background of the suspected perpetrator - has been widely blamed for contributing to the violent disorder that unfolded in the UK in recent days.

In an interview with the Guardian, external, Khan said that misinformation spread on social media showed reform of the regulation was needed.

"The way the algorithms work, the way that misinformation can spread very quickly and disinformation ... that's a cause to be concerned, we've seen a direct consequence of this," he said.

Before we get into today's sentencings, we've just been hearing from Northumbria police and crime commissioner who says the force is hoping for the best this weekend, but also "planning for the worst".

Speaking on the Today programme, Susan Dungworth adds that it will be "business as usual" but with "extra capacity" generated from both within the force and with the help of neighbouring forces.

She underlines that moving forward, there are lessons to be learned around arrests, sentencing and deterrents of the rioters that can be applied to other areas of the criminal justice system such as violence against women and girls.

A number of sentencing hearings for rioters will take place in courts across England today.

So far, almost 500 people have been arrested, with more than a dozen convicted of offenses and sentenced. Here’s a look at the sentencings planned today:

• Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Bradley Makin pleaded guilty to violent disorder, as well as possession of cocaine and heroin. Andrew Smith, Josh Kellett and Leanne Hodgson will be sentenced for violent disorder
• Leeds: Jordan Parlour will be sentenced after entering a guilty plea to stirring up racial hatred. Sameer Ali and Adnan Ghafoor will be sentenced for affray and Jordan Plain will be sentenced for racially aggravated intentional harassment
• Middlesbrough: Charlie Bullock and Cole Stewart pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
• Liverpool: Jordan Davies pleaded guilty to possession of a knife. Lloyd Killner, Gareth Metclafe and Jimmy Bailey pleaded not guilty to violent disorder
• London: Ozzie Cush will be sentenced today after pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker in Westminster
• Northampton: Tyler Kay will be sentenced after being charged with publishing written material intending to stir up racial hatred
• Sheffield: Kenzie Roughley, aged 18, will be sentenced for violent disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham.

The riots following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport have been the worst unrest the UK has seen in more than a decade.

The violence has been fuelled by misinformation online, the far-right and anti-immigration sentiment.

Almost 500 people have been arrested and close to 150 charged over the unrest, in towns and cities across England and in Northern Ireland.

Later today, we're going to be learning more about the sentences that some of these rioters are facing, but for now, take a look at the cases the BBC has been tracking of some of those arrested.

• Explore the full interactive tracker here

Image source, Reuters

In case you missed us yesterday - here's a quick summary of the main developments.

• Keir Starmer held his third emergency Cobra meeting since the disorder began and the BBC understands he told police they need to remain on "high alert"
• It followed concern at potential large scale disorder on Wednesday night which did not materialise
• Police forces had been aware of 160 sites where there was potential for unrest - in the end only 36 needed a significant policing presence
• The National Police Chiefs' Council chair called Wednesday night a "turning point" but underlined that those intent on violence and destruction "have not gone away"
• All the children who had sustained injuries during last week's knife attack have now been released from hospital
• Labour councillor Ricky Jones, now suspended from the party, was arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder - in a video posted online he appeared to say the throats of violent rioters should be cut

Daniel Sandford
Home Affairs Correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Six thousand riot-trained police officers were on standby to respond to potential disorder wherever it happened on Wednesday night.

But while thousands of anti-racism campaigners turned out, the far-right was largely absent.

That was a key moment when the tide turned in this wave of public disorder, says Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, one of the UK’s most senior police officers.

But he stressed there was no room for complacency, with the police now “very focused on the weekend" with “many potential events still being advertised and circulated online”.

He added: “Yes it was a turning point. Is it a decisive and definitive one?

"We will see over the coming days, but it was clearly a shift in behaviour.”

Communities had been braced for a night of unrest after it emerged a list purporting to contain the names and addresses of immigration lawyers was being spread online.

But this largely failed to materialise. Forces were aware of 160 sites of potential public disorder, but only 36 of those needed a significant policing presence.

Why? It appears the huge number of riot officers on standby, combined with the stiff sentences of up to three years in prison already handed out by the courts, had been an effective deterrent.

In practical terms, potential rioters seem to have been put off by the sheer number of police officers deployed.

• Read Daniel's full analysis here

Johanna Chisholm
Live page editor

Prime Minister Keir Starmer wasn't taking any victory laps on Thursday, a day after a night that law enforcement had anticipated to bring about more unrest had instead returned an unexpected evening of calm.

During his third emergency Cobra meeting yesterday since violent disorder broke out, the PM told officials that police need to remain on "high alert", the BBC understands.

Starmer is understood to have said there was no doubt that levels of policing and swift justice over the past week, including sentencing, have acted as a deterrent to disorder.

More of those sentences are expected to be handed down to people today who have pleaded guilty to offences relating to recent riots, including for violent disorder and online activity.

We'll be bringing you all the updates on those sentences, along with any other pertinent details throughout the day. Stick with us.