Daniel Sandford
UK 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 more from Daniel here
• And find an in-depth summary of the today's events here

Disorder did not materialise last night as feared, but Keir Starmer is understood to have told Cobra – a government emergency response meeting – this evening to "remain on high alert".

Here what else has been happening today:

• The prime minister is also understood to have told Cobra that there is "no doubt" rapid sentencing has acted as a deterrent to further rioting

• So far, almost 500 people have been arrested, close to 150 charged, with police saying the numbers are expected to rise "significantly" – at least 14 people have been sentenced after the unrest in recent days
• National Police Chiefs' Council chairman Gavin Stephens said last night was a "turning point" but that people intent on violence and destruction "have not gone away"
• Suspended Labour councillor Ricky Jones was arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder after comments at a London counter-protest – he appeared to say in a video the throats of rioters should be cut
• All the children injured in last Monday's stabbings in Southport have now been discharged from hospital, Merseyside Police said
• A 55-year-old woman has been arrested in relation to a social media post Cheshire Police says contained "inaccurate information" about the identity of the attacker in the Southport stabbings
• An anti-immigration protest and counter demonstration took place in Barnsley earlier

We'll be ending our coverage shortly, after some closing reflections from our UK affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford.

This page was edited by Francesca Gillet, Johanna Chisholm, Jamie Whitehead and Emily Atkinson. The writers were Anna Boyd, Lana Lam, Hollie Cole, Ian Aikman, Ben Hatton and Thomas Copeland.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier today, the prime minister said Elon Musk's criticism of the policing at a disturbance in Birmingham this week was "dangerous".

The owner of X (formerly Twitter) claimed the force was guilty of "two-tier policing".

Musk reacted to a video showing crowds of mainly Muslim men outside a Yardley pub where disorder took place on Monday, and tagged Sir Keir Starmer in a post, external questioning why all communities "weren't protected" in Britain.

On a visit to Solihull, the prime minister said talk of two-tier policing was wrong and dangerous, because it exposed police to "more danger".

Starmer was in the town to reassure community leaders in the wake of recent unrest and protests.

• Read more here

Image source, EPA

Multiple GoFundMe pages have raised over £400,000 to help local areas rebuild in the wake of riots and disorder.

The money from one online fundraiser will go to "rebuilding or relocating" a Southport mosque that was "turned into a warzone", the page said.

Another page was set up to raise £5,000 to replace damaged books at the Spellow Library, which was torched on Sunday.

As of Thursday, it had far exceeded that target, with more than £215,644 raised.

Fundraisers for a Belfast cafe and a Sunderland Citizens Advice building also exceeded expectations, receiving tens of thousands of pounds in donations.

Donations have also surpassed £384,000 for the families of the three girls killed in the Southport attack on July 29, as well as the other victims.

GoFundMe said in a statement that "nearly a million" in total has been raised on its website to help those affected by the riots after people across the country "sprung into action".

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

"Remain on high alert”, the prime minister is understood to have told a Cobra meeting tonight.

Keir Starmer thanked police chiefs, law enforcement officials and others from across the criminal justice system for their response, the BBC understands.

He told them that there is “no doubt” rapid sentencing as well as having police in the right places across the country “acted as a deterrent” to prevent expected violence on Wednesday night.

The extra specialist police officers mobilised have not been stood down.

Almost 6,000 extra public order officers were mobilised earlier in the week to respond to the disorder.

Officials the BBC spoke to resisted the idea a corner had been turned. They said the government remains focused on the police’s response to the possibility of further unrest.

Almost 500 people have been arrested and close to 150 charged over the disorder and unrest that started after the fatal Southport knife attacks.

We have been tracking the cases of some of those arrested, looking at the charges they face and the sentences handed down by the courts.

And we've put that together with an interactive map of where arrests have taken place across England and Northern Ireland.

Find out more here.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Ministers are beginning to leave the Cabinet Office in Whitehall which may indicate the Cobra meeting is over.

The prime minister has been chairing a meeting of police chiefs, ministers and officials as part of the government’s emergency crisis response.

So far we’ve seen the Home Office minister Diana Johnson, the Attorney General Lord Hermer KC, the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and the Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley among others.

Senior sources I’ve been speaking to admit there is a sense of relief in government that there wasn’t the scale of violence last night some had feared.

But as one said to me, “we're not going to get ahead of ourselves and say 'job done'."

All the indications are the government’s response will remain the same. That means the focus from ministers and officials leaving Cobra will continue to be firstly on making sure there are enough police on the streets, and that they are stationed in the right places around the country.

And secondly that the tough sentences we’ve seen handed down continue to happen quickly and with maximum publicity to try and deter anyone considering getting involved in future violence.

Those in government I’ve spoken to hope that twin approach – on policing and sentencing – will be the turning point in bringing the violent disorder we’ve seen to an end.

A teenager who threw beer bottles at police and smashed windows during riots in Hartlepool will serve 20 months' in a young offenders' centre.

Bobby Shirbon, of Cornwall Street, Hartlepool, had just turned 18 on Wednesday 31 July when he took part in violent riots in Hartlepool.

He pleaded guilty to violent disorder after he was seen smashing windows during violent scenes on July 31 while part of a group that was throwing bricks and bottles at police.

Image source, PA Media

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent

Image source, PA Media

King Charles is not currently planning to pay any visits or make any official statements about the wave of rioting and unrest.

According to royal sources, he is being kept updated daily about the public disorder.

But a royal intervention is so far not imminent, with a response to the protests being left to the government, rather than a monarch who is expected to stay out of politics.

It follows the precedent of the late Queen Elizabeth who did not send any messages during the rioting of 2011.

However, the lack of a public response to the riots from the King has been criticised as a "cowardly absence" by the anti-monarchy group, Republic.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

More than a quarter of people charged by police so far with offences linked to the recent violent unrest are under the age of 21, according to the PA news agency.

Let's break down the rest of the figures for you:

• Of the 147 individuals, 25% of people are aged 21 to 30 years old
• People aged 31 to 40 make up 24% of those charged, and 16% are between 41 to 50 years old
• Over-50s make up 8% of those charged, with 69-year-old William Nelson Morgan of Linton Street in Liverpool's Walton area being the oldest person to have been charged so far

We're watching and waiting for law enforcement officials to arrive at Downing Street for a third emergency meeting after disorder following the Southport stabbing, chaired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The PM earlier said the meeting of Cobra, starting shortly, was intended to "reflect on last night" and plan for the coming days.

A woman has been arrested in relation to a social media post containing "inaccurate information" about the identity of the attacker in the Southport stabbings, Cheshire Police says.

The force arrested a 55-year-old woman from near Chester on Thursday on suspicion of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred and false communications.

She is currently in custody, the force says.

Chief Superintendent Alison Ross says: “We have all seen the violent disorder that has taken place across the UK over the past week, much of which has been fuelled by malicious and inaccurate communications online.

“It’s a stark reminder of the dangers of posting information on social media platforms without checking the accuracy."

Thomas Copeland
Live reporter

All the children injured in last Monday's stabbings in Southport have now been discharged from hospital, Merseyside Police says, external.

The force adds the last remaining injured girl was released from Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital today and will continue her recovery at home.

In a statement from the girl's family, issued by Merseyside Police, they thank the hospital for its "unwavering support and the extraordinary care".

They also thank the air ambulance team who airlifted her to hospital. "We know that their intervention saved her life," the statement reads.

The family say they are "deeply saddened by the recent disorder and the attacks on our police force" that were sparked by the stabbings last week.

"It is important to highlight that when the horrific events unfolded, our police officers were the first on the scene," the family say.

“While we are relieved that our daughter is on the path to recovery, our hearts go out to the families of Bebe, Alice, and Elsie during this immensely painful time," the statement concludes.

Image source, PA Media

Police Scotland is considering a request to send 120 officers to Northern Ireland following several nights of anti-immigration riots in Belfast and other parts of the UK.

Jon Boutcher, chief constable of the Police Service in Northern Ireland (PSNI), says his officers are exhausted and cannot “stand alone to deal with disorder like this any more”.

Seventeen people were arrested and 11 of them have been charged following outbreaks of violence and disorder in Belfast.

Police Scotland said it had received "a number of requests for mutual aid" from UK forces which would be balanced against policing needs in Scotland.

• Read more here

Some more details on the suspended Labour councillor Ricky Jones.

Earlier in the day, videos had emerged online reportedly showing Jones telling a crowd that far-right demonstrators needed to have their throats cut.

A Labour spokesperson said: “This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated."

Jones has been approached for comment.

On Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said a man in his 50s had been arrested in south east London on suspicion of encouraging murder and for an offence under the Public Order Act. He remains in custody.

In video that has circulated on social media, a man at the rally was filmed apparently saying: “They are disgusting Nazi fascists and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.”

You can read more on this developing story here.

Suspended Labour councillor Ricky Jones has been arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder after comments at a London counter-protest.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

A Hartlepool man has been sentenced to 16 months' detention after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

Kieron Gatenby, 19, of Yeovil Walk, Hartlepool, was part of a group throwing bottles and bricks at police and smashing windows of houses, cars and shops while chanting racial slurs.

The teen, who has no previous convictions, was not motivated by far-right ideology and "got carried along" by the crowd, his lawyer Calum McNicholas told Teesside Crown Court earlier today.

He was arrested the day after the disorder as he rode his bike in town after police recognised him from bodycam footage where he was seen throwing an egg.

Gatenby, who will serve his sentence in a young offenders' institution, denied having any racist beliefs but admitted his behaviour was unacceptable.

Image source, PA Media

Callum May
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Image source, PA Media

Two brothers who looted a library during riots in Liverpool last week have been sent to jail.

Adam and Ellis Wharton went to the Spellow Library in Walton after violence broke out in the city on Sunday and the community facility had been set on fire.

Ellis Wharton, 22, went to the library with a face covering and rucksack and was later caught trying to steal a large computer.

He lashed out at a police officer and hit him in the chest, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Adam Wharton, 28, was a lookout for his brother.

Judge Neil Flewitt KC told him there was no doubt he had “involved and encouraged” his younger brother in the offence.

Adam Wharton was jailed for 20 months and Ellis Wharton for 11 months.

Their mother and a female relative cried in the public gallery and shouted “Thank you judge” as they were taken from the dock to the cells.

The Chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland Liam Kelly has just said violence seen in recent days is "thuggery", while noting that police are "under-resourced".

"Our resources are stretched but now we have asked for some mutual aid assistance, there's definitely going to be more visibility of police in the short-term here so that we can get this matter under control," Kelly tells BBC Radio 4's the World at One programme.

“Because it's just thuggery, I mean it's an absolute disgrace that people think they can behave like this."

Kelly appeals for the public to assist police in their enquiries to get rioters before the courts, saying there is "no excuse" for their violent behaviour.

As a reminder, police in Northern Ireland have requested additional officers from forces elsewhere in the UK under special mutual aid arrangements to help combat possible violence in the coming days.

More from National Police Chiefs' Council chairman Gavin Stephens now.

He's told reporters that although last night was a "turning point", people intent on violence and destruction "have not gone away".

"They've certainly been deterred. They've certainly received a message from communities," he says.

"But there's no complacency at all in our mind that we need to be prepared for the days and particularly the weekend ahead. So the policing posture remains the same."