UK: Thousands join anti-racism rallies, far right stays away
August 10, 2024
Anti-racism protests held across the United Kingdom on Saturday drew thousands of people, aimed at countering a wave of riots in several cities blamed on the far-right.
Several nights of violent disorder erupted nearly two weeks ago due to misinformation online that the suspect in a knife attack that killed three young girls in northwest England was a Muslim asylum-seeker.
What happened on Saturday?
Large crowds of anti-racism protesters gathered in London, Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester and numerous other UK towns and cities for the second time in a week. By the late afternoon, however, feared violent confrontations with anti-immigration agitators had failed to materialize.
In London, hundreds massed outside the office of Brexit architect Nigel Farage's Reform UK party before marching to parliament. Farage and other far-right figures have been blamed for helping to fuel the riots through anti-immigrant rhetoric.
In the northeastern English city of Newcastle, shop owners boarded up their stores ahead of a possible far-right protest on Saturday afternoon.
A small group of anti-immigration protests gathered in the city's famed Bigg Market. Police said social media posts boasting of a large crowd were false.
A much larger anti-racism demonstration was held nearby, but both rallies were cleared by police following the granting of a dispersal order. Fourteen arrests were made.
Antiracism rallies held in Scotland, Northern Ireland
Hundreds of anti-racism protesters gathered at rallies outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and in Glasgow's George Square.
In Belfast, Northern Ireland, as many as 15,000 people took part in the United Against Racism rally, with many people holding placards with pro-migrant messages.
A petrol bomb was thrown at a mosque in a town east of Belfast in the early hours of Saturday, but it failed to ignite. Police said they were treating the incident as racially motivated.
No spillover to football matches
The new season of the English Football League — below the high-profile Premier League — kicked off on Saturday, including in cities that have seen disorder.
UK authorities are concerned that some far-right groups have links to England's decades-old football hooligan scene. Police said forces nationwide were collaborating to ensure that "all relevant intelligence" was shared ahead of the matches.
At some grounds, crowds of supporters chanted the name of anti-Muslim agitator Tommy Robinson, who has been accused of helping to fuel the unrest through constant social media posts.
More than 80,000 fans watched Manchester City beat Manchester United on penalties in the FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium, which passed off without disorder.
Also Saturday, several more people were arrested over their roles in earlier riots. Many others appeared in court, facing possible jail time.
How the UK riots unfolded
The violence erupted after the murder of three young girls and the wounding of several others in a mass stabbing in the northwestern city of Southport on July 29.
Far-right commentators spread false information that the 17-year-old male suspect held over the knife attack was a Muslim asylum-seeker. He was born in Wales.
More than a dozen places across England as well as Belfast were hit by riots over several days. Groups of thugs targeted mosques and hotels linked to immigration, as well as police, vehicles and other sites.
More than 700 people have been arrested and numerous people have been quickly jailed — some for several years — to deter further violence.
mm/rmt (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)