For five days now, British streets have been the scene of violent clashes between far-right protesters and the police. Dozens have been arrested. The Prime Minister has promised a tough approach.
Large-scale violence has returned to the streets of the UK, something not seen in 13 years. Sunday marks the fifth day of protests across the country following the murder of three children in Southport. Protesters associated with the far right have committed acts of vandalism and clashed with police in several towns. As violence escalated further this weekend, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, facing his first major crisis since taking office a month ago, left a stark warning to rioters: “You will regret it.”
What is motivating the protests?
The riots broke out after a crime that shocked the United Kingdom. A 17-year-old boy burst into a dance class in Southport, in the north-west of the country, on Monday and stabbed someone who stood in front of him. The outcome was tragic: three dead (three girls aged six, seven and nine, the last one Alice Dasilva Aguiar, was Portuguese) and ten injured, including eight other children.
Another child has died after being stabbed at a dance school in England. She was nine years old and was Portuguese, the daughter of Madeiran parents.
The incident quickly became associated with Islamic extremism. As is often the case with minors, the English police did not reveal the identity of the suspect, saying only that he was born in Cardiff, Wales, and lives in Banks, a town near Southport. On social media, the idea that the suspect was a victim of Islamism spread. The suspect is believed to be a radical Muslim immigrant..
???? NEW: Police vans now set on fire at far-right demonstration in Southport tonight
Chants during the demonstration of “Allah, Allah, who the hell is Allah?”pic.twitter.com/Qx9AFdfBsy
– UK Politics (@PolitlcsUK) July 30, 2024
The day after the attack, hundreds of people travelled to Southport and rioted in the quiet seaside town of 90,000 people, north of Liverpool. Members of the far-right English Defence League attacked the mosque where the vigil was being held in honour of the victims and clashed with police. Around 50 officers were injured. The next day, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer went to the scene of the stabbing and criticised the riots, which he said had “insulted a community in mourning”.
Southport stabbing: More than 100 arrested after clashes between protesters and police in central London
Amid speculation about the identity of the suspect, British police later revealed that the attacker Axel Rudakubana, British but of Rwandan descentthe country where the parents are from. The young man was arrested and is in pre-trial detention.
On Wednesday, protests reached the capital, with hundreds of demonstrators gathering in Whitehall outside the entrance to Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence. Anti-immigration protesters clashed with police and shouted slogans such as “Save our children”, “England until we die”, “We want our country back” and “Stop the boats.” There were also protests in other towns, including Hartlepool in the north-east of the country. Attacked with glass bottles and eggs, police made eight arrests, according to bbc.
Metropolitan Police beat a protester with their baton as riot police raise their batons towards the demonstrators.
Protests have erupted outside Downing Street over the fatal stabbing of three children at a dance workshop in Southport.
– Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 31, 2024
As protests escalated, Keir Starmer called police representatives on Thursday and promised them more powers to deal with violent demonstrations: information sharing between different police forces, use of facial recognition technology and preventive measures against criminal behaviour. That day, the UK Prime Minister stepped up his criticism. He classified the protesters as “a band of bandits”.
**???? British cities erupt as protests and clashes against immigrants escalate**
Chaos is spreading across British cities, with violent clashes in Sunderland, Stoke-on-Trent and other areas. Protests have become aggressive, particularly in response to a recent massacre by a police officer. pic.twitter.com/okdZAh4bTh
— Agentis Geopolitics (@AgentisGeop) August 3, 2024
But the protests did not subside, quite the opposite. Friday night was marked by violent riots in Sunderland, on the outskirts of Newcastle (in the north). Dozens of people threw stones at police officers, set fire to cars and a police station. Northumbria police confirmed that 10 people were arrested and four officers were injured. However, it was on Saturday that the demonstrations took on a national dimension. Reuters reported protests in several cities, including Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast (in Northern Ireland). There were also anti-immigration demonstrations in Bristol and London.
More than 100 arrested in a single day
In Hull, protesters smashed the windows of a hotel housing migrants, the newspaper reported. bbcMore than 100 people were arrested across the country.
This weekend a new element emerged that has further increased the tension on British streets: anti-racist demonstrationswho oppose the more than third demonstrations called by nationalist groups. In Manchester, protesters held signs reading “Save our children”; on the other side, a counter-protest read “No to fascism and racism”.
Lived in #Belfast In all my life I have never seen the British and Irish flags flying together on the same side, truly remarkable scenes. ????????? ?????????
The other “side” has a mix of Pride and Palestine flags. ????️???? ????????? pic.twitter.com/bw3Usdveii
– Fear_the_Beard ?????????♂️ (@FeartheBeardy) August 3, 2024
In Belfast, police had to intervene after clashes between anti-immigration protesters and other demonstrators carrying LGBT and Palestinian flags.
#lancaster says refugees are welcome here. Fascists are not ✊???? pic.twitter.com/iUN74rbeTP
– Stand up to racism (@AntiRacismDay) August 4, 2024
On Sunday, tensions did not subside, prompting the Prime Minister to issue a warning to protesters not to create public disorder. “You will regret it”Keir Starmer said in Downing Street, quoted by Telegraphstressing that he will do “everything necessary to bring these criminals to justice as quickly as possible.” Starmer guaranteed that the dozens of people arrested in recent days will be charged and tried.
In Rotheram, on the outskirts of Sheffield, a group of far-right activists attempted to raid a hotel they believed was housing asylum seekers. Police created a security cordon around the Holiday Inn chain and one officer was injured.
BREAKING: Moment anti-immigration rioters break through the door of the Holiday Inn hotel in Rotherham
Read more: https://t.co/g8sbq9EESC
???? Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/2PPbPVkCVv
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 4, 2024
Anti-immigration protests are taking place across the UK on Sunday, with the most violent protests concentrated in the north, in Liverpool, Bolton and Middlesborough. Anti-racism actions are also planned in Birmingham, Bolton, Cardiff, Derby, Lancaster, Rotherham and Weymouth, the paper writes. guardian.
It has been more than a decade since the UK has seen a wave of violence of this magnitude, since thousands of people took to the streets over several nights in 2011 in protest against the police shooting dead a black man in London. There are now calls for the use of the military to contain the violence. “If our police forces continue to be overwhelmed, I would encourage the government to call in the military,” former Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood wrote on social media.
Source: Observadora
