Around 90 people were arrested after clashes broke out at right-wing rallies in several locations, including Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland. | Photo: Getty Images
UK officials face mounting pressure on August 4 Worst riots in England in 13 years The incident occurred after a wave of violence and child murders broke out across the country.
Unrest related to misinformation about the stabbing deaths of three young girls the previous week spread to several cities and towns on August 3, when anti-immigration protesters clashed with police.
Violence is presenting a big test Prime Minister Keir StarmerWho had been elected just a month earlier after leading the Labour Party to a landslide victory over the Conservative Party.
Around 90 people were arrested after clashes broke out during right-wing rallies in a number of places, including Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
In some cases, rioters hurled bricks, bottles and flares at police – injuring several officers – looted and burned shops, while protesters shouted anti-Islamic slurs as they clashed with counter-protesters.
The violence is the worst seen in England since the summer of 2011, when widespread rioting broke out after the police killing of a mixed-race man in north London.
Tiffany Lynch, of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “We have had riots and clashes like this before but they have been restricted to certain areas of the country. Now we are seeing it spreading to major cities and towns.”
The government said police had “all necessary resources” to deal with the unrest, while authorities warned more demonstrations were likely on 4 August, raising fears that unrest could flare up again.
Security forces have deployed additional officers, while Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood stressed that “the entire justice system is prepared to ensure convictions as quickly as possible.”
The government’s Police Minister, Diana Johnson, said, BBC News On August 4 he said that rioting “would not be tolerated”, and vowed “punishments and consequences” for the disorder.
The August 3 clashes were the fourth day of unrest in several cities and towns on England’s northwest coast following a July 28 knife attack in Southport, near Liverpool.
English flags
These were fueled by false rumours on social media about the background of British-born suspect Axel Rudakubana, 17, who has been charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in connection with the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party.
Rudakubana is accused of killing six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancomb and nine-year-old Alice DeSilva Aguiar, and injuring 10 others.
Police have blamed the violence on supporters of the English Defence League, an anti-Islam group founded 15 years ago and whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism, and its affiliates.
Protesters have targeted mosques in Southport and the city of Sunderland in northeastern England, leading to stepped-up security at hundreds of Islamic centres amid fears for the safety of worshippers.
These rallies have been advertised on right-wing social media channels under the banner “Enough is enough”.
He has seen protesters waving English and British flags and chanting slogans such as “Stop the boats” – a reference to irregular migrants travelling from France to Britain.
Anti-fascist protesters held counter-rallies in several cities, including Leeds, where they chanted “Nazi rubbish get off our streets”, while right-wing protesters chanted “You are no longer British”.
Not all of the estimated 30 gatherings on August 3 turned violent and some participants claimed their complaints were legitimate.
“People are fed up of hearing that if you’re white and working class you should be ashamed, but I’m proud to be white and working class,” Ms Karina, 41, who did not reveal her surname, told IANS. AFP in Nottingham.
Commentators have suggested that these protesters, inspired by online influencers, feel encouraged by the political dominance of anti-immigration elements in British politics.
Last month’s election saw the Reform UK party win 14% of the vote – the biggest vote share for any right-wing British party.
Mr Starmer has accused “thugs” of “hijacking” the nation’s grief to “spread hatred” and has announced new measures to increase intelligence sharing, the wider use of facial recognition technology and a move to allow criminal behaviour orders to prevent rioters from travelling.
Police minister Johnson said the government would do “whatever it takes” to bring people to justice, including the possibility of courts sitting overnight as during the 2011 riots.