UK Police Detain More Than 90 As Anti-Immigrant Protests Descend Into Chaos Over Murder Of Three Girls
BBC reports that the incidents took place in several cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Belfast which saw “violent thugs” clash with police and loot shops in some instances.
No fewer than 90 people have been arrested after far-right demonstrations descended into riots in towns and cities across the UK on Saturday.
BBC reports that the incidents took place in several cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Belfast which saw “violent thugs” clash with police and loot shops in some instances.
Violence erupted in Liverpool as anti-immigration protesters, numbering around 1,000, clashed with counter-protesters.
The anti-immigration group, some of whom hurled Islamophobic slurs, threw bricks, bottles, and a flare at police, injuring two officers – one hit in the head with a chair and another kicked and knocked off his motorbike.
Meanwhile, a few hundred anti-fascist demonstrators gathered near Lime Street station, promoting unity and tolerance with chants like “refugees are welcome here” and “Nazi scum, off our streets”.
Two officers in Liverpool had to be taken to hospital. One with a suspected broken nose and another with a suspected broken jaw – as chairs, bricks, bottles and flares were thrown at them.
Chief Constable BJ Harrington, who speaks on public order for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said authorities are prepared for people to “try and do this again in the coming days”.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood told ministers “the whole justice system is ready to deliver convictions as quickly as possible”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to give police forces the government’s “full support” to take action against “extremists” attempting to “sow hate”.
At a meeting of government ministers earlier on Saturday, a spokesperson for Sir Keir Starmer said the PM told those assembled that “the right to freedom of expression and the violent disorder we have seen are two very different things.”
He added that “there is no excuse for violence of any kind and reiterated that the government backs the police to take all necessary action to keep our streets safe”.
On Saturday, the home secretary also warned that anyone engaging in “unacceptable disorder” would face imprisonment and travel bans amongst other punishments, adding that “sufficient” prison places had been made available.
“Criminal violence and disorder has no place on Britain’s streets,” Yvette Cooper said.
Police have the government’s full backing in taking action against those engaging in “thuggery”, she added.
Riots have swept across several towns and cities in northwest England, involving hundreds of anti-immigration protesters, following the tragic murder of three young girls earlier this week.
The unrest was fueled by false information circulating on social media, which wrongly identified the suspect in Monday’s knife attack at a children’s dance class in Southport as a radical Muslim migrant. The rapid spread of misinformation has sparked widespread anger and violence.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jqjqxl3dyo
