Key points
- PM announces 'army' of special officers to tackle far-right and anti-immigrant riots that have rocked UK towns and cities for a week
- Explained:Why are people rioting?|Everywhere riots have broken out - and what happened where
- Rival protests face off in Plymouth as riot police try to keep them apart
- 'Tense' situation in Birmingham as Muslim community looks to 'defend' streets
- Asylum-seekers 'slept in woods' to escape rioters
- Day in court as rioters appear:Thief swears at judge after attack in cells
- Live reporting by Ollie Cooper
Riot police with dogs attempting to keep protesters separate in Plymouth
The situation in Plymouth continues to worsen, with some far-right protesters breaking ranks to get closer to the riot police separating them from counter-protesters.
Officers have been seen shoving protesters who provoke them, with one male officer pulled off the line, apparently hurt.
There was also a small scuffle around an officer controlling a police dog.
Sky News van attacked by knife-wielding man in Birmingham
By Becky Johnson, communities correspondent
Word had spread among the Muslim community in Birmingham that the far-right were planning a protest in the city.
A community activist told us he had been monitoring Telegram messages being exchanged by protesters and was sharing information with men who want to "defend" their community.
Naveed Sadiq showed us a WhatsApp group he had organised of over 1,000 Muslims in Birmingham who were determined to stand up to the far-right.
But he says he's been trying to calm the anger and urge his community to be peaceful.
The message from older members of the Muslim community to younger men is "don't take the law into your own hands" - but Naveed adds: "Hopefully the police will take care of us but if they don't we will obviously be willing to take care of ourselves."
He told us where people were planning to gather and as we arrived we saw dozens of Muslim men waiting.
Many were wearing balaclavas.
One was armed with what appeared to be a wooden bat.
There were chants of "free Palestine" along with condemnation of the far-right.
But as we attempted to report live from across the street we were approached by a group of men who told us to leave.
Older men intervened, reassuring us that we should stay. But as the situation became more hostile, we took a decision to drive away.
As we did, a man in a balaclava ran alongside us brandishing a knife.
He ran in front of one of our vehicles and began stabbing at the tyre of our broadcast van. It wasn't damaged, so we were able to continue to drive away.
That moment was captured by our producer Nick Stylianou, and you can watch the footage here...
Three in court after unrest in Southport
Hundreds of people have been arrested during riots across the country.Dozens appeared in court today, met with additional prosecutors, as the judiciary attempts to meet Sir Keir Starmer's demand for swift justice.
Home affairs reporter Henry Vaughanwas in Liverpool Magistrates' Court, where some of those cases were heard today. Here's his latest report...
Another man has admitted his role in the rioting in Southport that broke out after the killing of three young girls at a dance studio.
A crowd of men, many wearing masks and hoodies, was embroiled in a running battle with police outside a mosque in the Merseyside town on Tuesday evening.
Police vans were set on fire and 53 officers were injured as protesters hurled bricks, lit fires and threw bottles.
John O'Malley, 43, from Southport, pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder at Liverpool Magistrates Court but on the basis that he "was standing in a group of people shouting and gesticulating" - but wasn't involved in throwing objects, damaging property or assaulting anyone.
Prosecutors did not accept the basis of plea and O'Malley, who was wearing a grey tracksuit and glasses and has a previous conviction for battery, was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing on 29 August.
O'Malley was one of three men to appear in the court over the Southport rioting today.
Derek Drummond, 58, from Southport, earlier pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assault of an emergency worker after punching PC Thomas Ball in the face.
Gareth Metcalfe, 44, from Southport, was remanded in custody after he gave no indication of his plea to a charge of violent disorder on Tuesday.
Metcalfe, wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans, spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address at the hearing and will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 29 August.
Read more snapshots in court from Henry here:
'Smoke bombs' thrown in Plymouth as tension ramps up
More from our West of England correspondent Dan Whiteheadin Plymouth, where tensions are rising.
He and his team have put their helmets on as missiles are exchanged between the two separated sides we outlined in our last post.
Missiles appear to include "smoke bombs", he says.
"There's been no violence yet, but it is tense," he adds.
Whitehead says he'd be surprised if there aren't any arrests, given how quickly the protests have increased in tension since 7pm.
"The police have entire teams who are filming the protest, all the time capturing that evidence."
Rival protests face off in Plymouth as riot police try to keep peace
Riot police are standing between two rival groups of protesters, our west of England correspondent Dan Whitehead says from the scene.
"Two separate protests are happening here today, one organised by Stand Up To Racism - there are around 350 who have been here since about 6pm," he says.
"In the last couple of minutes, another group who have publicised their protest with slogans such as "keep our children safe", "stop the boats" and "your country needs you" have come to the other side of this main road to face them."
A line of riot police now separate them.
"Devon and Cornwall Police told businesses earlier that they may want to shut early," Dan says.
As he's speaking, Stand Up To Racism protesters chant "Nazi scum, off our streets".
He says the other group is considerably smaller, but still numbers several hundred.
'Never my intention': Police boss 'sorry' for knocking mic out of journalist's hand
The Metropolitan Police commissioner has apologised after he knocked a Sky News journalist's microphone out of his hand earlier today.
"This morning I was part of a positive and constructive COBRA meeting with the prime minister about our collective response to hateful behaviour and violent disorder across the country," Sir Mark Rowley said.
"There's been a story running all day about my exit from the meeting. This is a distraction from the critical events we are dealing with.
"It was agreed the prime minister would provide an update afterwards and it was not my place to speak publicly.
"In an effort to move a microphone out of my path I'm sorry that I knocked it to the floor. That was never my intention.
"We remain focused on the critical and urgent matters at hand."
Musk responds to Starmer's concern about attacks on Muslims
Elon Musk has used his X platform - widely criticised over the past week for hosting disinformation about the Southport attack, which has partly inflamed the subsequent riots - to question Sir Keir Starmer's response.
The prime minister tweeted a clip of a statement he gave this morning, where he reiterated his warning to rioters that they will face justice and offered his support to Muslim communities targeted by the far right.
"We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities," his tweet read.
Musk responded: "Shouldn't you be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?"
Social media platforms facing government scorn
A reminder that Muslims have been targeted since the Southport attack after false rumours spread online that the suspect was a Muslim migrant.
He is in fact British-born 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana.
A mosque in Southport was targeted by a mob last Tuesday, and others have had their security ramped up in the days since.
Musk was criticised by Downing Street earlier for suggesting the UK was heading for "civil war".
The government has also called on social media bosses to do more to clamp down on misinformation and hate speech.
Podcast: Can the government stop the far right?
After a weekend of violence and disorder, Sir Keir Starmer has said police will have access to a "standing army of specialist officers" to deal with the riots.
Hundreds of people tried to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham on Sunday, while a children's library in Liverpool and a Citizens Advice centre in Sunderland were burnt over the weekend.
Mosques have also been attacked and shops looted.
The prime minister is facing mounting pressure to take a stand against the far right.
On today's episode of the Sky News Daily, presenter Niall Paterson speaks with Ivan Humble, a former leading active member of the English Defence League who now works to tackle radicalisation and extremism in the UK.
Plus, our political correspondent Rob Powell talks about the government's response to the crisis.
Bubbles blown in Southport tribute
Residents of Southport have come out to blow bubbles in a tribute to those killed and injured in a stabbing attack a week ago today.
Hundreds of people came out to pay respects to Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who all died last week.
Eight other children and two adults were also injured.
One child remains in hospital, but all other patients have been discharged.
Children blew bubbles while piano music played as others placed flowers and heart-shaped balloons in front of The Atkinson arts centre in remembrance.
Worries of police officer fatigue as rest days cancelled
Police officers hauled off rest days to face violent riots are likely to suffer fatigue, the Police Federation has warned.
Broken bones and concussion are among the injuries police officers have suffered over six days of violence.
Nearly 400 arrests have been made, but it is not yet known how many police officers have been injured during the disorder.
Tiffany Lynch, acting national chairwoman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, told Times Radio: "What we're actually seeing and our officers out there that are working incredibly hard for extended periods of duty, is unprecedented, and the violence that they're actually facing, some have never faced before in their careers.
"We know of recorded injuries where we've had broken bones, concussion and such like, but we're also seeing that these officers are working extended long hours and with the level of violence that they're facing, they will be becoming fatigued at some point."
She added the officers "will be having their rest days cancelled", and will be "pulled off shifts or specialised departments to actually prioritise what is a national priority".
