There have been a series of riots and protests in the UK which were triggered by misinformation and tension around immigration issues. The riot was caused by a terrible event that took place at Southport’s children’s party, leading to violent anti-immigration demonstrations aimed at those seeking asylum, Muslims and migrants’ facilities.
Anti-racism protesters have also hit the streets in response to the far-right protests with thousands of people calling for an end to the violence.
This is how the events unfolded across the United Kingdom:
Southport attack
The demonstrations were triggered by a tragic occurrence on July 29 in Southport, a beach resort town in northern England. During an event for children called ‘Taylor Swift Dance Extravaganza’, Axel Rudakubana, aged 17-years-old stabbed to death three girls aged between six and nine years while injuring several others.
Axel Rudakubana who was born in Wales but has Rwandan parents has been charged with murder and attempted murder. However, this false rumor quickly spread through social media that he was considered as an Islamist migrant despite his being born British. As a result of this misinformation there were anti-Muslim demonstrations within Southport one of which even targeted one of their local mosques.
Nationwide unrest and violence
After initial protests started in Southport, the unrest rapidly moved to other parts of Britain. This led to riots beginning in more than 20 areas including major cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast. Near Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office building in central London there were thousands of participants resulting into over 100 arrests following confrontations between police officers.
All over Britain far right groups burnt down housing centers for refugees drove vehicles into policemen threw fire bombs at Mosques .
In Rotherham protestors smashed windows at a hotel accommodating migrants outside which they set light to an enormous garbage container. Nationwide about 430 people have been arrested since these riots began with more than 120 being charged with some aspect related to the civil unrest.
Role of far-right groups and social media
Far-right groups are being blamed for this violence by authorities, with PM Starmer calling it “far-right thuggery.“ Anti-immigrant figures such as Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) have been accused of spreading disinformation through social media that have led to violent uprisings.
Social media platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter) have received criticisms because they are being used to spread false information and not preventing anti-Muslim hate speech.
The British government has slammed tech companies over their role in fueling the violence. UK science minister Mr. Peter Kyle met representatives from TikTok, Meta, Google and X and accepted their responsibility to stop misinformation from spreading.
Counter-protests and community response
Anti-racist protesters numbering thousands across the UK responded to far right violence by taking to the streets. On Wednesday, large counter-protest gatherings were observed in cities like London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle. In Walthamstow in northeast London, there were chants of “Whose streets? Our streets!” while demonstrators held placards declaring “Stop the far right.”
Sara Tresilian a Walthamstow resident rejected the far right saying: “I live in the borough, we don’t want these people on our streets… they do not represent us.” Meanwhile riot police watched Sheffield protesters shouting “Say it loud say it clear refugees welcome here”.
UK Government reaction
To restore calm, Prime Minister Starmer promised that the law will be taken against persons found to have participated in rioting. Almost 600 more prison spaces have been created while specialized officers were deployed to oversee about one hundred far-right activists and counter-protesters’ demonstrations.
The courts began sentencing those involved in the riots. A man was given three years for violent disorder and attacking a police officer at Southport. According to Prosecutor Jonathan Egan, these sentences are just “the tip of the iceberg”, as authorities keep holding rioters responsible.
