Anti-migration protesters are seen during riots outside of the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, which is being used as an asylum hotel, on August 4 in Rotherham. Photo / Getty Images
Anti-migration protesters are seen during riots outside of the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, which is being used as an asylum hotel, on August 4 in Rotherham. Photo / Getty Images
The United Kingdom is bracing for more violent far-right riots after the Southport stabbings, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer is promising swift action against instigators.
British police are bracing for further violent racist attacks against Muslims and immigration centres, with the government pledging swift action to punish anyone stoking disorder.
Britain has been hit by escalating violence that erupted early last week after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, triggering a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant.
Reports that far-right groups would target specialist immigration law firms and migrant support centres on Wednesday forced many to close and some family doctors in areas affected by the protests said they would shut early to protect staff.
Anti-racism and anti-fascist groups have responded by organising counter-protests across the country.
Approximately 50 people have gathered in North End Road, Croydon. They’ve made clear their intention is to cause disruption & fuel disorder.
They've dragged & thrown objects down the road & thrown bottles at officers. This is not linked to protest, this appears to be pure… pic.twitter.com/vgmOvtTDTh
In the first sentences handed down since the rioting started, a 58-year-old man was jailed for three years for violent disorder, while two others, aged 41 and 29, were sentenced to 20 and 30 months respectively.
“This is the swift action we’re taking. If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law,” Starmer said.
Riot police clash with anti-migration protesters outside of a Holiday Inn Express, which is being used as an asylum hotel. Photo / Getty Images
Riots erupted when groups of a few hundred mostly men clashed with police and smashed windows of hotels housing asylum-seekers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, chanting “get them out” and “stop the boats” - a reference to those arriving in Britain in small dinghies without permission.
They have also pelted mosques with rocks, prompting Muslim organisations to issue community safety advice.
“The shocking scenes have left many Muslims and minority ethnic communities scared and fearful,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrives with a floral tribute to the child victims of a knife attack on July 30 in Southport. Photo / Getty Images
Migration to Britain was a major factor in the country’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union and it was a battleground during last month’s election, with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party winning around four million votes on calls for tighter border controls.
Britain saw record net migration levels in 2022, with numbers buoyed by those arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong, and through work and student visas.
Net migration through legal means was some 685,000 in 2023, while 29,000 people arrived via small dinghies on the English coast without permission, many having fled war zones. A chant heard at far-right riots of “stop the boats” was also a slogan of the Conservative Party before it was swept out of power after 14 years at the election.
Walking past the boarded-up shopfront of the Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau in northeast London, which has appeared on a list of far-right targets, Clarissa Rougier, a 40-year-old Black woman who lives locally, said she felt unsafe and feared being targeted because of her skin colour.
”What they do not realise is that we were brought here to build this country ... and then it just so happens that we have our roots here,” a visibly upset Rougier said.
”It breaks my heart ... it makes me feel sad.”
The government has put together a so-called “standing army” of 6000 specialist police officers to respond to any outbreaks of violence, and say they will have a big enough presence to deal with any unrest.
London police chief Mark Rowley said that police plans had been based on the list of possible targets but they would be agile and prepared for other eventualities too.
”That’s why we have thousands of officers on tonight. We will protect those people,” he told reporters.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions said children as young as 11 have been involved in the violent disorder and “may face lifelong consequences for their actions”.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said more than 120 people had been charged and 428 arrests made in connection with the disorder.
