UK braces for more unrest after anti-immigrant violence
High police alert continues following anti-immigrant violence across UK
British authorities prepared for more unrest on Thursday, despite commending anti-racism campaigners and police for preventing a wave of far-right demonstrations overnight. Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed caution following a week of anti-immigrant violence affecting communities from Northern Ireland to the south coast of England. Starmer spoke at a mosque in Solihull, near Birmingham, where demonstrators had closed a shopping centre on Sunday.
“It’s important that we don’t let up here,” Starmer emphasised. At an emergency meeting with law enforcement officers in his office on Thursday evening, Starmer stressed the need for police to stay on “high alert.” He credited strategic police staffing and swift court justice for rioters as key deterrents.
Police across the UK had braced for widespread disorder on Wednesday after far-right activists listed over 100 sites they planned to target, including immigration lawyers’ offices and other migrant services. However, these demonstrations did not materialise, as police and counter-protesters filled the streets. Signs reading “Refugees Welcome” and chants of “Whose streets? Our streets” were common as people rallied to protect asylum service centres and immigration attorneys’ offices.
Thank you to the community and faith leaders and the police I visited today for keeping our communities safe. pic.twitter.com/mNbQwHXb8H
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 8, 2024
The government declared a national critical incident, placing 6,000 specially trained police on standby. Though protests and counter-protests were mostly peaceful, a few arrests were made. Commissioner Mark Rowley, head of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, noted the unity and strength of communities and police in averting major disorder.
Tensions remain high after misinformation circulated about the suspect in a knife attack that killed three young girls in Southport last week. The last child injured in the July 29 stabbing was released from hospital on Thursday. Nearly 500 arrests have been made nationwide after anti-immigrant mobs clashed with police, attacked mosques, and overran two hotels housing asylum-seekers. Among those arrested was a man in his 50s, suspected of “encouraging murder,” following a Labour councillor’s alleged call for far-right protesters’ throats to be “cut.”
The Labour Party suspended Ricky Jones, who allegedly made the remark at a London demonstration on Wednesday. The government has vowed to prosecute those responsible for the disorder, including those inciting violence online. To deter further unrest, TV cameras recorded Judge Andrew Menary at Liverpool Crown Court sentencing two men to 32 months in prison. Video evidence showed rioters attacking police with bricks and setting fires. One suspect was seen throwing a bumper torn from a police vehicle, cheered on by onlookers. “All of them should be frankly ashamed of themselves,” Menary said.
The rise of antisemitic incidents in the UK is deeply concerning.
Jewish people, and all those from faith communities, deserve to feel safe on our streets.
I'd like to thank the CST for their action. We will work together to eradicate discrimination of any kind. https://t.co/4JzWFqQzLL
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 8, 2024
Northern Ireland’s regional legislative assembly convened to address the unrest. Minister for Justice Naomi Long condemned the violence and racist attacks, stating they did not reflect the people of Northern Ireland. “We need to call it for what it is. It is racism, it is Islamophobia, it is xenophobia,” she said. “If we’re going to deal with it, we need to name it for what it is, and we need to challenge it.”
The government is considering additional sanctions, including banning rioters from football matches. Home Office minister Diana Johnson told LBC Radio that there should be consequences for those involved in the disorder. “I think all options are being looked at, to be honest, and I am pretty clear that most football clubs do not want to be seen to have football hooligans and people carrying out criminal acts on the streets of the local communities in their stands on a Saturday,” she said.
