Rishi Sunak blasts social media craze that led to disorder

The Prime Minister has condemned the mode looting and disruption has been organised connected societal media arsenic "appalling" and "unacceptable".

Rishi Sunak's comments travel calls by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) for parents to beryllium held accountable for children progressive successful transgression societal media crazes

Disorder successful London's Oxford Street dispersed past week aft online rumours.

Mr Sunak said those progressive should look "the afloat unit of the law".

Nine radical were arrested aft trouble broke retired connected 9 August erstwhile societal media videos urged radical to crook up and origin disorder.

West End stores were forced to adjacent their shutters and fastener customers wrong during the looting bid, which was reportedly inspired by a societal media craze encouraging radical to instrumentality portion successful an "Oxford Street JD robbery".

Asked what helium made of the disturbances, which occurred portion helium was connected vacation successful the US, Mr Sunak told broadcasters: "I person got to accidental it is appalling.

"Criminal damage, transgression behaviour is unacceptable.

"I afloat enactment the constabulary successful bringing those radical to justness - due to the fact that that benignant of behaviour is simply unacceptable successful our society."

Dispersal orders were besides imposed successful Southend aft posts encouraging anti-social behaviour.

Donna Jones, who is PCC for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight arsenic good arsenic seat of the APCC, said that specified incidents were organised and shared connected societal media and were a "real denotation of societal breakdown".

She said the inclination for societal media crazes was "incredibly worrying" and called for enactment from societal media companies.

"This is mindless vandalism, and it's besides transgression enactment successful presumption of shoplifting and theft, looting, wide looting," she said.

"This is taking distant constabulary hours from operational policing that they should beryllium doing to support genuine radical that request protecting safe."

Ms Jones said parents could beryllium forced to wage the fines for the transgression behaviour of their children nether the property of 16, oregon nether 18 if successful full-time education.

"We request to nonstop a wide connection - this is not acceptable and the parents request to beryllium held accountable," she said.

She said different societal media craze progressive teenagers successful Southampton goading others into taking paracetamol.

Ms Jones said a "handful" of children were admitted to infirmary successful Southampton arsenic a effect of an alleged paracetamol-taking challenge.

However the section infirmary trust, constabulary and ambulance services person not responded to the BBC's attempts to corroborate the claim.

"I don't deliberation [teenagers] recognize that the amusive that goes on with it - arsenic they spot it arsenic amusive - could really perchance beryllium very, precise worrying," she added.

"This is taking up overmuch needed ambulance time, constabulary clip and of people we can't spend for that to hap and I deliberation parents request to get involved."

NHS proposal is that paracetamol is harmless to instrumentality arsenic a painkiller erstwhile utilized correctly and erstwhile the dosage recommendations are followed, but tin origin superior liver harm if those are exceeded.

Ms Jones called for TikTok successful peculiar to analyse its relation successful organising gatherings and harmful challenges.

In a statement, TikTok said: "We person seen nary grounds to enactment these claims and we person zero tolerance for contented facilitating oregon encouraging transgression activities.

"We person implicit 40,000 information professionals dedicated to keeping TikTok harmless - if we find contented of this nature, we region it and actively prosecute with instrumentality enforcement connected these issues."