Cooper says the UK saw "disgraceful scenes" over the weekend and that there's "no excuse" for targeting mosques and throwing bricks at police officers.

"There will be a reckoning," she says about those who took part, adding that "hundreds" of arrests have already been made.

On the Cobra meeting, taking place today, the home secretary tells BBC Breakfast that a focus will be making sure rioters "pay the price" for their actions. Social media will also be spoken about, she says, calling on companies to take responsibility for misinformation being spread online.

• For context: In the aftermath of the Southport attack, false claims were made online that the suspect was a refugee who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023 - and there was unfounded speculation he was Muslim. Merseyside Police later confirmed that the 17-year-old they had arrested was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, and that they were not investigating the attack as terror-related.

We're hearing now from Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, who's speaking to our colleagues on BBC Breakfast.

Stay tuned and we'll bring you key lines from her interview.

We don't yet know what time the emergency Cobra meeting's being held - for now, though, let's recall what the prime minister said in a televised statement about the protests over the weekend.

Keir Starmer condemned the violent disorder yesterday, saying those who’ve taken part will “face the full force of the law”.

He described the protests as “far-right thuggery” and that it has “no place on our streets or online”.

He said Muslim communities and minorities have been targeted and singled out, mosques and police officers have been attacked, and Nazi salutes have been seen in the streets.

“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online,” he said. "There is no justification for taking this action,” he said, adding that people have“a right to be safe”.

Image source, Reuters

If there’s a crisis in the UK, a Cobra meeting often takes place.

Despite sharing the same name as a venomous breed of snake, the meetings aren't named after them. Cobra meetings, which are sometimes called Cobr meetings, are named after the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A - on Whitehall in central London.

It’s an emergency response committee consisting of ministers, civil servants, the police, intelligence officers, and others appropriate to the reason the meeting has been called. Today's, for instance, will involve relevant ministers and police representatives.

The goal of Cobra meetings to discuss decision-making and coordinate different departments and agencies in the face of a crisis or emergency.

Over the past few years, Cobra meetings were held regularly during the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2019 following severe flooding in England.

Sam Hancock
Live page editor

The prime minister's due to hold an emergency response meeting later - called a Cobra meeting - following a weekend of unrest in parts of the UK.

Police responded to violent scenes in Rotherham, Middlesbrough and Bolton on Sunday alone - with more than 150 people known to have been arrested.

In a televised address yesterday, Keir Starmer said "people in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we've seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques".

It all follows a stabbing attack in Southport last week, which left three children (aged six, seven and nine) dead. Five others were injured, along with two adults. False claims followed that the suspect - a 17-year-old born in Cardiff to Rwandan partners - was a refugee who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023 and unfounded speculation he was Muslim.

The boy, Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder and one count of possessing a bladed article and is remanded in youth custody.