Teen and ten men in court after Merseyside far-right riots

A 14-year-old boy and ten men will appear in court after far-right riots erupted across Merseyside last week.

The unnamed teenager, charged with violent disorder at Clayton Square, will face Liverpool Youth Court today. The other ten men will appear at either Liverpool Magistrates Court or Wirral Magistrates Court.

These individuals are among the first to be charged with violent offences following recent nationwide disorder.

During an incident on St Luke’s Road in Southport, rioters set vans on fire and hurled bricks at officers. The rioters, reportedly linked to the English Defence League (EDL), also attacked a local mosque.

TURN SOUND ON – Recent riots across multiple UK cities, including Liverpool, Manchester, and Bristol, were sparked by the tragic killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Southport, Merseyside.
The unrest began as demonstrations organized by far-right… pic.twitter.com/CEO5bbRIsk

— Kayhan Life (@KayhanLife) August 4, 2024

Another protest on Saturday at Pier Head in Liverpool turned violent. Rioters, clad in riot gear, targeted police with bricks and debris, causing further chaos in areas such as Walton. Police described this as ‘serious violent disorder’ after attacks on businesses, officers, and a library.

These events followed a weekend of riots across the country, including an incident in Rotherham where a Holiday Inn Express was targeted, forcing four asylum seekers to spend the night in woodland. A clean-up operation is now underway.

In Middlesbrough, far-right extremists set up ‘race checkpoints’, questioning drivers if they were ‘white and English’. Hundreds gathered outside the Jamia Masjid Al-Madinah mosque on Sunday afternoon. Men stood in the road, asking, ‘Are you white?’ and ‘Are you English?’