Thousands Of Anti-racism Protesters Flood Streets Across England To Counter Far-right Rallies
Thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered across England and formed human shields to protect asylum centres after police warned that more than 100 far-right gatherings that had been planned had the potential to turn violent.
As reported by The Guardian, lawyers’ offices shut down, high street shops were boarded up, GP practices closed early and MPs were told to consider working from home as 41 of the 43 local police force areas in England and Wales braced for potential disorder.
About 6,000 riot-trained officers were deployed to tackle the expected rallies and an estimated 30 counter-protests.
UK Police staged their biggest mobilisation to counter disorder since the 2011 riots on Wednesday, after immigration law firms and refugee centres were listed as potential targets in a far-right chat group on the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
But instead, thousands of counter-protesters took to the streets of Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton and London to protect their communities.
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Three people were arrested for public order offences in Northampton, while fifteen were arrested across the capital, including 10 in Croydon for assaulting emergency workers, possession of offensive weapons and other offences.
What Caused the far-right protests?
According to BBC, the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in the seaside town of Southport, in the north of England sparked the riots in towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland.
The violence has been fuelled by misinformation online, the far-right and anti-immigration sentiment.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event on 29 July 2024.
Later that day, police said they had arrested a 17-year-old from a village nearby and that they were not treating the incident as terror-related.
However, almost immediately after the attack, social media posts falsely speculated that the suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK on a boat in 2023.
The social media posts circulated an incorrect name for the alleged perpetrator, falsely claiming he was Muslim.
However, it later emerged that the suspect was actually born in Wales to Rwandan parents, not of the Muslim faith.
The suspect has been named as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana. Suspects below 18 have automatic anonymity, but judges decided to identify Rudakubana, in part to stop the spread of false information, reported Al Jazeera.
Rudakubana is a British national born in Wales, reportedly to Christian parents from Rwanda.
Police said the violence was believed to have involved supporters of the now-disbanded far-right group the English Defence League (EDL).
According to BBC, while there was no single organising force at work, there was a clear pattern of influencers driving a message for people to gather for protests.
Multiple influencers within different circles allegedly amplified false claims about the identity of the attacker, reaching a large audience.
Speaking after chairing a Cobra emergency meeting on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government was doing “everything we can” to ensure police could respond wherever they were needed.
Migrants live in fear
Many Zimbabweans, along with other ethnic minorities and asylum seekers, have faced heightened fear and anxiety due to the violence and racism associated with these riots.
The riots have led to attacks on properties housing asylum seekers and increased hostility towards immigrants.
According to Al Jazeera, the rioters chanted against – and attacked migrants, Muslims and non-white Britons. Part of the report reads:
Mosques have been vandalised. Rioters have thrown bricks into the homes belonging to ethnic minorities and smashed the windscreens of their cars. A Syrian supermarket in Belfast was set alight.
Hotels housing asylum seekers have been surrounded by furious crowds, some of whom have made deadly threats; one masked man was filmed making a slit-throat gesture.
Racist graffiti was sprayed on the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth, perhaps an indicator of how many communities are at risk: “Fu** P***s”, “Scum”, “Get out England”.
On Tuesday, UK-based Zimbabwean lawyer Brighton Mutebuka said he had been warned about reports of a conspiracy to target UK Immigration Lawyers and Migrant Support groups. He posted on X:
I have just literally received a highly concerning email from my Regulator warning me about reports of a conspiracy to target UK Immigration Lawyers & Migrant Support groups by Far-Right thugs at 8pm tomorrow. The situation has defo gone another level!
Who are the Far-right?
The term “far-right” generally refers to political ideologies, groups, and movements that are significantly further to the right of the traditional political right-wing.
Some key characteristics associated with the far-right include ultra-nationalism and xenophobia, authoritarianism, racism and white supremacy, anti-immigration and anti-globalization, as well as traditionalism and social conservatism.
The far-right is considered to be on the extreme end of the right-wing political spectrum, in contrast to more mainstream centre-right or centre-left ideologies.
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