DAILY MAIL COMMENTARY: The grievances behind the riots

There is no excuse for the senseless violence that followed the murder of three young girls at a Southport dance class on Monday.

Ransacking the streets, throwing missiles at the police, looting, burning cars and breaking the windows of mosques would be despicable under any circumstances.

But to use a tragedy that left a quiet city in a state of shock and mourning as a pretext to commit such acts is monstrous.

Worryingly, police are warning of further disruption over the weekend and are on high alert in locations as far afield as Liverpool, Rochdale and even Belfast.

This outbreak of public disorder was initially fuelled by false information, cynically spread on social media, according to which the killer was an Islamist asylum seeker.

The police were far too slow to correct the problem and the vacuum was filled by internet conspiracy theorists, fanatics and attention seekers hell-bent on causing trouble.

In fact, the alleged murderer was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents.

Sir Keir Starmer says the riots were “clearly motivated by hatred of the far right” and that the perpetrators were mainly foreigners.

“These thugs are mobile,” he said Thursday. “They move from one community to another.”

His proposed solution includes a wider rollout of controversial facial recognition technology and travel restrictions on known offenders.

But is this anarchy only the work of far-right intruders?

Of the seven people charged over the riots in Southport the day after the knife attacks, four are from the town itself and the rest from elsewhere in Merseyside.

Following disturbances in Hartlepool, an 11-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson and seven men have been charged with other offences. All are believed to be locals.

There is no doubt that many troublemakers, some of them affiliated with the far right, have taken advantage of the Southport tragedy to further their own malicious political interests.

Social media sites are flooded with disgusting racist clichés.

The owners of these platforms can no longer afford to shrug their shoulders at the filth being peddled there, and if Sir Keir really wants to make a difference, he could certainly start there.

But there are deeper and more complex issues here that can no longer be ignored.

Many in this country feel angry, alienated and ignored by a distant and dismissive political class.

Brexit (which towns like Hartlepool voted for overwhelmingly) was supposed to bring border control and laws, but eight years later the opposite has happened.

Migration has increased, crime is high (especially in poorer areas) and public services are strained by a population increase of 9 million people since 2000.

The Conservatives, though disappointing, have tried to stem the tide. Labour looks set to open the floodgates.

In its first four weeks in office, the new government has abandoned deterrence against Rwanda and is preparing to automatically grant asylum to 70,000 to 90,000 migrants awaiting assessment. This looks like a total capitulation.

There is a widespread perception that Britain is undergoing radical change, both culturally and economically, and that, far from allowing open debate, the political elite are trying to cover up the truth.

Sir Keir is at his peril to ignore this growing disaffection. Far-right actors could help to fuel the current protests.

But the grievances that underlie them are felt by many. And they are very real.