Arrests and Charges as Thetford Disorder Continues
Police made further arrests and brought the first charge on Friday over the disorder around asylum accommodation in Thetford, Norfolk, which has run for three nights. Riot officers were deployed and asylum seekers were moved to safety again as crowds gathered. Officers injured earlier in the unrest, including one who was bitten, were said to be recovering.
The trouble, echoing the anti-migrant riots that spread across England last summer, has become the most serious test yet of the government’s ability to keep order around asylum housing. Police have warned that agitators are exploiting local grievances and misinformation, and that both officers and vulnerable residents are being endangered. Ministers have condemned the violence as criminal thuggery and promised swift prosecutions. The unrest unfolds amid a fevered national argument over immigration, with the government on the defensive. Watch whether the disorder spreads to other towns or is contained.