An anti-immigration protester, centre, speaks to police officers in North Finchley, London, on Aug., 7, 2024, as anti-immigration groups targeted dozens of locations throughout the country following a week of rioting and disorder fueled by misinformation over a stabbing attack against young girls.PA Wire/The Associated Press
British police braced for further violent racist attacks against Muslims and immigration centres on Wednesday evening, with the government pledging swift action to punish anyone stoking disorder.
Britain has been hit by escalating violence that erupted early last week after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, triggering a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant.
Reports that far-right groups would target specialist immigration law firms and migrant support centres on Wednesday forced many to close and some family doctors in areas affected by the protests said they would shut early to protect staff.
Anti-racism and anti-fascist groups have responded by organizing counter-protests across the country.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former chief prosecutor who is facing his first crisis since winning a July 4 election, has warned rioters they will face lengthy jail terms as he seeks to stamp out the worst outbreak of violence in Britain in 13 years.
In the first sentences handed down since the rioting started, a 58-year-old man was jailed for three years for violent disorder, while two others, aged 41 and 29, were sentenced to 20 and 30 months respectively.
“This is the swift action we’re taking. If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law,” Starmer said.
Riots erupted when groups of a few hundred mostly men clashed with police and smashed windows of hotels housing asylum-seekers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, chanting “get them out” and “stop the boats” – a reference to those arriving in Britain in small dinghies without permission.
They have also pelted mosques with rocks, prompting Muslim organizations to issue community safety advice.
“The shocking scenes have left many Muslims and minority ethnic communities scared and fearful,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said.
Migration to Britain was a major factor in the country’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union and it was a battleground during last month’s election, with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party winning around 4 million votes on calls for tighter border controls.
Britain saw record net migration levels in 2022, with numbers buoyed by those arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong, and through work and student visas.
Net migration through legal means was some 685,000 in 2023, while 29,000 people arrived via small dinghies on the English coast without permission, many having fled war zones. A chant heard at far-right riots of “stop the boats” was also a slogan of the Conservative Party before it was swept out of power after 14 years at the election.
Walking past the boarded-up shopfront of the Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau in northeast London, which has appeared on a list of far-right targets, Clarissa Rougier, a 40-year-old Black woman who lives locally, said she felt unsafe and feared being targeted because of her skin colour.
“What they do not realize is that we were brought here to build this country … and then it just so happens that we have our roots here,” a visibly upset Rougier said. “It breaks my heart … it makes me feel sad.”
The government has put together a so-called “standing army” of 6,000 specialist police officers to respond to any outbreaks of violence, and say they will have a big enough presence to deal with any unrest.
London police chief Mark Rowley said that police plans had been based on the list of possible targets but they would be agile and prepared for other eventualities too.
“That’s why we have thousands of officers on tonight. We will protect those people,” he told reporters.
Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions said children as young as 11 have been involved in the violent disorder and “may face lifelong consequences for their actions.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said more than 120 people had been charged and 428 arrests made in connection with the disorder.