Internment in the United Kingdom during the First World War

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The British government was initially reluctant to impose widespread internment in the United Kingdom during the First World War, choosing instead to restrict the activities of nationals of enemy nations residing in the UK and interning only those suspected of being a threat to national security. Public anti-German sentiment peaked with the sinking of the Lusitania on 7 May 1915, and the subsequent rioting forced the government to implement a general program of internment.