British police were deployed to contain far-right protests and counter-demonstrations on Saturday, with further unrest feared after a third night of rioting following the stabbing deaths of three girls and the spread of misinformation about the attacker.
Mosque imams are increasingly concerned, as a mosque in the north-eastern city of Sunderland and another in the north-western city of Southport were attacked during clashes between police and demonstrators.
Early Saturday afternoon, demonstrations were held in several British cities, including Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Portsmouth and London, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland.
There were no immediate reports of violence.
Clashes broke out between police and protesters outside a mosque in the northeastern English city of Sunderland on Friday, with protesters waving English flags and chanting anti-Islam slogans amid violence.
Police denounced “dangerous levels of violence”, arrested 10 people and took four officers to hospital for injuries sustained during the riots, which saw a police station set on fire.
Clashes took place on Wednesday in several cities, most notably London, Hartlepool in the north, and Manchester.
“This was not a protest, this was unforgivable violence and disorder,” Northumbria Police Chief Constable Mark Hall told reporters.
More than 30 calls have been made across Britain to protest, most under the anti-immigration slogan “Enough is enough,” which has been widely shared on social media, according to anti-racism group Hope Not Hate.
The calls came after the stabbing that killed three girls in Southport on Monday, and widespread rumours and misinformation about the religion and identity of the accused, Axel Rudakopana, a 17-year-old teenager.
In London, an anti-immigration protest is being held on Saturday next to a pro-Palestinian march in the city centre.
- Anti-racism
In Manchester, “hundreds of people” gathered in the city centre on Saturday, at the call of anti-racism groups, in response to a demonstration attributed to “far-right activists”, according to the Stand Up to Racism movement on the X website.
In Belfast, a small group gathered in the city centre on Saturday, shouting anti-immigrant slogans, and in Hull, a group of protesters chanted “You are not British anymore”, while counter-protesters chanted “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here”, the BBC reported.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Friday that it “will not tolerate individuals who use the right to protest as a means of committing violence or inciting racial or religious hatred towards residents or police.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned on Twitter that rioters would “pay the price for their violence and thuggish behaviour”, while North East Mayor Kim McGuinness accused “far-right groups” of being behind the violence.
“They announced what they called a peaceful protest” in Sunderland, she told the BBC on Saturday, “but that’s not what’s peaceful about it, it’s criminality and violence, and the police response was strong.”
Education Secretary and Sunderland MP Bridget Phillipson condemned the “unforgivable” violence, adding that “the criminals involved will be identified, prosecuted and punished”.
Former Conservative home secretary Priti Patel, a candidate for the Conservative Party leadership, said the violence was “totally unacceptable”.
Patel called on the government to recall Parliament even though it began its traditional summer recess on Tuesday.