Violent protesters could be jailed within 24 hours of arrest with 2011 riots response used as model

Violent protesters could be jailed within 24 hours after Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and Home Secretary Priti Patel drew up plans based on the response to the 2011 London riots.

Anybody caught vandalising, causing criminal damage or assaulting police officers could be quickly processed through magistrates’ courts with extended opening hours, according to The Times.

More than 130 people have been arrested after nearly 160,000 people across the UK took part in almost 200 demonstrations, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

The warning comes as the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement continues to be felt across the country with the removal of a string of monuments and statues .

On Thursday evening, a Bristol tower block sign bearing the name of a slave trader was removed.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in London announced it will remove two statues of people linked to the slave trade from public view.

And a video circulating online showed men in hard hats scaling Colston Tower in Bristol city centre and removing the controversial figure’s name from the top of the high-rise building.

Hours earlier, Colston’s statue was fished out of Bristol harbour after being pulled down and dumped into the water during an anti-racism demonstration on Sunday.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council have delayed plans to temporarily remove a statue of Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell after angry residents vowed to fight to protect it.

The council had originally said it would move the statue from Poole Quay on Thursday over concerns it was on a target list compiled by anti-racism activists.

Campaigners have focused in on Lord Baden-Powell due to his associations with the Nazis and the Hitler Youth programme, as well as his actions in the military.

The statue features on a “topple the racists” website which lists more than 60 statues and memorials across the UK which they argue should be taken down, because they “celebrate slavery and racism”.

The council said the statue would not be removed because its “foundations are deeper than originally envisaged” with discussions needed with contractors on how to move it safely.

Twenty-four-hour security will be put in place “until it is either removed or the threat diminishes”, the council said.