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Far-right demonstrations clashed with anti-racism protesters as cities and towns across the UK descended into chaos following a stabbing incident at a dance class in Southport earlier this week, which left three girls dead and several others wounded.
Bottles were thrown, shops were looted, and police officers were attacked in cities including Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, and Belfast.
The Prime Minister has pledged the government’s “full support” for police forces to take action against “extremists” who are trying to “sow hate.”
Tensions have surged following the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport, Merseyside, on Monday. A 17-year-old male has been arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the attack.
Riots have erupted in various towns and cities, fueled by false information that spread rapidly on social media which claimed that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was a radical Muslim migrant.
Police have clarified that the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, 17, was born in Wales to Rwandan parents. Despite this, protests by anti-immigration and anti-immigrant demonstrators have continued, escalating into violence, arson, and looting.
Although suspects under 18 are typically not named in the UK, Judge Andrew Menary has allowed Rudakubana’s identification to help combat the spread of misinformation.
On Saturday, Merseyside Police said a number of officers were injured in “serious disorder” in the center of Liverpool, about 20 miles away from the scene of the stabbing attack.
A few hundred anti-fascist demonstrators gathered across from Liverpool’s Lime Street station at lunchtime, calling for unity and tolerance, chanting “refugees are welcome here” and “Nazi scum, off our streets”, a BBC report stated.
They marched down to the city’s riverside to confront around one thousand anti-immigration protestors – some of whom were shouting Islamophobic slurs.
Police in riot gear with dogs struggled to keep the two sides apart and reinforcements were called to try and maintain order.
The unrest continued into the early hours of Sunday morning, with fireworks launched towards police officers wearing riot gear.
Police also said they had made multiple arrests in Bristol, which is arguably the most left-wing city in the U.K, during a standoff that saw as right-wing activists heavily outnumbered by their opponents. In Bristol, far-right activists moved from the city center and headed to a hotel that has been used to house asylum seekers.
In Hull, authorities stated that four people were arrested and three officers suffered injuries as they handled protests involving bottle-throwing. Mosques across the country have been advised to tighten their security until the situation is contained.
On Saturday, Merseyside Police reported that several officers were injured during “serious disorder” in central Liverpool, about 20 miles from the stabbing attack’s location.
A few hundred anti-fascist demonstrators gathered near Liverpool’s Lime Street station at lunchtime, calling for unity and tolerance. They chanted slogans such as “refugees are welcome here” and “Nazi scum, off our streets,” according to a BBC report.
The group marched to the city’s riverside to confront around one thousand anti-immigration protesters, some of whom were shouting Islamophobic slurs.
Police in riot gear, accompanied by dogs, struggled to separate the two sides and called for reinforcements to maintain order. The unrest continued into the early hours of Sunday morning, with fireworks being launched at officers in riot gear.
In Hull, authorities reported four arrests and three officers injured during protests involving bottle-throwing. Mosques across the country have been advised to enhance security until the situation is under control.
In Bristol, protesters and counter-protesters faced off in a tense standoff. One group was heard singing “Rule Britannia,” chanting “England ’til I die,” and demanding “We want our country back,” while the opposing side countered with chants of “refugees are welcome here.”
Elsewhere, in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, bricks were thrown at police officers. Scuffles have also been reported in Belfast, Manchester, and Nottingham.
More than 90 people have been arrested across the country so far, the BBC reported on Sunday.
Britain’s new Labour Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, convened a crisis meeting with ministers on Saturday. During the meeting, he assured that police have the government’s “full support” in taking decisive action against “extremists” who are attacking officers and attempting to “sow hate,” according to a statement from No. 10 Downing Street.
Later “a spokesperson for Starmer said that there is no excuse for violence of any kind” and reaffirmed that the government fully supports the police in taking all necessary measures to ensure public safety.
“The right to freedom of expression and the violent disorder we have witnessed are two very different things.”
According to New York Times, the violence has been driven by online disinformation and extremist right-wing groups intent on creating disorder after the stabbing attack. A range of far-right factions and individuals, including neo-Nazis, violent soccer fans, and anti-Muslim campaigners, have promoted and taken part in the unrest.
Other far-right groups spread information about the protest on social media, including British Movement, a neo-Nazi group. Images of the protests examined by Hope not Hate showed some people with Nazi tattoos.
After the disorder in Southport, the police said that supporters of the English Defence League had been involved. The riots have also attracted people linked to soccer violence, or hooliganism, which has long aligned with nationalist movements in Britain.
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