Greater Manchester Police is working with four other police forces in the UK to track down the suspects
19:00, 04 Aug 2025Updated 19:02, 04 Aug 2025
Protestors, counter-protestors, and police in Bolton one year ago today(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Greater Manchester Police has posted images of people it is trying to track down in relation to last summer’s riots.
GMP is collaborating with four other police forces to track down people suspected of being involved in the unrest.
The disorder spread across the UK in summer 2024 after the Southport murders, with false rumours circulating that the killer was a Muslim and an immigrant.
Some 1,876 have been arrested so far in relation to the rioting, with 1,110 charged, but dozens of suspected rioters are still wanted by police one year one.
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Now, GMP is working alongside police from Merseyside, Cleveland, Northumbria, and Avon and Somerset to track down around 40 suspects who are still at large.
It comes as July saw anti-immigration rallies outside a hotel in Altrincham as well as down in London, while last weekend saw hundreds of people aligned with far-right group Britain First march through central Manchester, met by hundreds of counter-protestors.
Police want to speak to this person(Image: police.uk)
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Drummond-Smith of the British Transport Police led the national response to investigating last year’s riots, and said: “We have a duty to facilitate protest … but what we saw last year, and in a few isolated cases this year, is where it’s gone to criminality and to serious disorder.
“In those cases what I think we can learn from last year is that justice will be swift, and I hope that that would be a deterrent to anyone thinking about engaging in serious disorder this year.
Police want to speak to this person(Image: police.uk)
“We’ve made effective use of CCTV, bodyworn video, and we’ve been able to bring a lot of people in front of the courts.”
The police chief also said officers are working “very hard” to contain the “small pockets” of disorder this year.
He said: “I think they’ve been isolated because of a swift police response to them, and I think that’s the key thing.
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“If we can respond to serious disorder swiftly, I think we can contain that and prevent it from spreading across the country, so that’s what we’re working very hard on.”
Outlining how things have changed since last year, Mr Drummond-Smith said: “We’ve sharpened up our ability to mobilise quickly and move resources around the country so we can achieve that quicker.”
Last summer’s unrest, which saw hotels used to house asylum seekers targeted by mobs, was denounced by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the time as “far-right thuggery”.
Police want to speak to this person(Image: police.uk)
In July 2025 the prime minster claimed he is “cracking down on migrants working illegally as food delivery riders”, saying that the government intends to share the location of hotels used to house asylum seekers with food delivery companies.
Police are still working to trace some individuals believed to have been involved in the rioting, including appeals on social media media as well as in communities.
This has included circulating images of suspects.
Police want to speak to this person(Image: police.uk)
Mr Drummond-Smith said: “One year on, we’ve still got some people who we have got good images of and we haven’t yet identified.
“I think the key thing is having a good image of someone is one thing, knowing who they are is another. We’re asking the public to have a look, and if they recognise anyone in those images, to let us know who they are and bring them to justice.”
The full list of people police would like to speak to can be viewed here.