Police across the UK have arrested at least 100 people following violent clashes involving far-right anti-immigration groups over the weekend. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has given his full support to the police to take firm action against these extremists.
The unrest included bricks and fireworks being thrown, windows of a hotel housing asylum seekers smashed, shops attacked and set on fire, and scuffles between mobs and police. These incidents occurred in Liverpool, Hull, Bristol, Leeds, Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Belfast, Nottingham, and Manchester on Saturday.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned that those responsible for this “criminal disorder and violent thuggery” will face consequences.
After a high-level meeting with ministers on Saturday, the Prime Minister emphasised that while freedom of expression is important, the violence seen on the streets is unacceptable. He reiterated that the government supports the police in taking all necessary measures to ensure public safety.
Groups monitoring anti-Muslim incidents in the UK have reported an increase in concerns from British Muslims, many of whom are now afraid to visit their local mosques. UK Policing Minister Diana Johnson spoke to the BBC, condemning the criminal behaviour of looting and violence, and assured that there are enough prison places for those involved in such acts.
The UK Ministry of Justice is reportedly in discussions with the judiciary, police chiefs, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to extend court hours to quickly process the expected increase in riot-related cases.
In another incident, 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana from Lancashire has been charged with a stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance workshop in Southport, which was one of the first sites of unrest earlier in the week. False online claims that Rudakubana, who is of Rwandan heritage, was an asylum seeker arriving on a small boat sparked the initial violence.
Merseyside Police identified the English Defence League (EDL) as a key player in spreading far-right sentiments online, even though the group no longer exists in a formal sense. Stand Up to Racism, a group organising counter-protests, warned that extremist activities must not go unchallenged.
