Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemns people who use TikTok to plan crime after Oxford Street looting

The Prime Minister has condemned people who use social media sites like TikTok to organise disruption and anti-social behaviour, and has called such actions “appalling” and “unacceptable”.

Rishi Sunak also had a stark warning for any youngsters who may be tempted to get involved in future criminal flashmobs and said that if they did so they would be “met with the full force of the law”.

Sunak’s comments come after the incident which happened on Oxford Street last week, in which plans for anti-social behaviour on London’s famous shopping street were organised via TikTok. London Mayor Sadiq Khan had warned people not to go to Europe’s busiest shopping street as it emerged that plans were circulating for criminal activity, but several people were arrested after the incident, on Wednesday 9 August, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman said those responsible should be hunted down.

Footage taken on the day showed police wielding batons in a clash with dozens of young men and wrestling some of them away, while officers on horseback helped to disperse hundreds of people. West End stores were also forced to close their shutters and lock customers inside during the looting bid, which was reportedly inspired by a social media craze encouraging people to take part in an “Oxford Street JD robbery”. The Metropolitan Police said they issued 34 dispersal orders during the incident.

“Simply unacceptable in our society”

Sunak was asked what he made of the incident, which happened while he was on holiday with his family, and said: “I have got to say it is appalling. Criminal damage, criminal behaviour is unacceptable,” according to PA news agency.

He added: “I fully support the police in bringing those people to justice. I want anyone watching who is thinking about this, who sees something like this, to know that they will be met with the full force of the law. Because that type of behaviour is simply unacceptable in our society.”

His comments come after Donna Jones, chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), said social media crazes like this were “incredibly worrying” and a sign of “societal breakdown”.

Jones told the PA news agency she believes parents could be fined over the behaviour of youngsters who take part in incidents such as the Oxford Street incident. She added: “Hundreds of young people rampaging through London shops, which are putting their security shutters down… You know, this is Britain in 2023. This is incredibly worrying, and somebody needs to call it out.”

Jones also said she believed parents could be forced to pay the fines for the criminal behaviour of their children under the age of 16, or under 18 if in full-time education, if they take part in such behaviour.

She added: “This is mindless vandalism, and it’s also criminal activity in terms of shoplifting and theft, looting, mass looting. This is taking away police hours from operational policing that they should be doing to keep genuine people that need protecting safe. We need to send a clear message – this is not acceptable and the parents need to be held accountable.”

A TikTok spokeswoman said: “We have zero tolerance for content facilitating or encouraging criminal activities. We have over 40,000 safety professionals dedicated to keeping TikTok safe – if we find content of this nature, we remove it and actively engage with law enforcement on these issues.”