'Violence that cannot be tolerated': Trouble which erupted in Manchester and Bolton was 'orchestrated criminality', says chief constable

Violence erupted in Manchester and Bolton at the weekend. Masked men were involved in running battles with riot police as fences were torn down and missiles were thrown.

This 'orchestrated criminality' had nothing to do with lawful protest, Chief Constable Stephen Watson has told the Manchester Evening News.

Disorder hit towns and cities across the country, including in Greater Manchester, followed the fatal stabbings of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport last week. Incorrect rumours – that the suspect in the stabbings was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a small boat – spread on social media and appears to have fuelled the unrest.

In a frank interview with the Manchester Evening News, today (August 6) Chief Constable admitted the force 'is stretched' and was bracing itself for more trouble in the coming days. He revealed GMP has cancelled rest days and leave as part of an effort to coral a squad of 1,000 officers, some of them riot cops, available to mobilise at any moment.

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He revealed the violence in Manchester city centre on Saturday and in Bolton on Sunday was 'orchestrated' and that a dedicated 'arrest cell' led by a senior officer has been set up to comb through CCTV and police body-cam footage to bring trouble-makers to justice.

"The intent was to harm, to damage, to frighten and that cannot be tolerated," he said.

Some GMP officers suffered minor injuries but none was seriously hurt as cops tried to keep a lid on 'very grave tensions' between groups of protesters and 'very dangerous situation into which we put our officers', said the chief constable who