Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called an emergency security meeting in a bid to quell anti-immigrant protests that rocked communities across the UK and threatened to plunge his month-old government into a polarizing cultural debate, writes Bloomberg.

Violence erupted in towns and cities including Rotherham, Blackpool and Bristol over the weekend in the first major test for the new Labour government.

The disorder has been fueled by an online misinformation campaign since an attack a week ago left three young girls dead.

The far right falsely claimed the suspect was a Muslim migrant to stoke anti-immigrant and Islamophobic sentiment.