Mounted riot police stand on duty outside a hotel housing asylum seekers to protect the premises from the 'Enough is Enough' demonstration called by far-right activists in Bristol on Aug. 3.JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images
Protests led by far-right groups erupted in the United Kingdom over the weekend following a deadly stabbing attack and a disinformation campaign fuelled by xenophobia.
The riots, started by anti-Islam and anti-immigration groups, have spread across a number of British towns and cities, leading to violent clashes with police, and mosques and hotels housing migrants being targeted. About 400 people have been arrested so far.
Here’s what to know about the wave of unrest, and how it started.
Where are the protests, and what is happening on the streets?
A protester holding a piece of concrete walks towards riot police as clashes erupt in Bristol on Aug. 3.JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images
Protests have been happening in dozens of cities across the United Kingdom throughout Friday and the weekend. Clashes have been reported in Southport, Liverpool, Walton, Manchester, Belfast in Northern Ireland and other cities.
In the first widespread outbreak of violence in Britain for 13 years, hundreds of people have attacked hotels housing asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East, chanting “get them out” and “stop the boats,” in reference to asylum seekers arriving in southern England on small dinghies.
They have also pelted mosques with rocks, unverified videos online have shown some ethnic minorities being beaten up and one man photographed at a protest in Sunderland on Friday had a swastika tattooed on his back.
In Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, videos online on Monday evening showed a group of Asian men gathering with Palestinian flags after reports that anti-migrant protesters may target the area. Reporters on the scene said they were met with hostility and videos appeared to show one white man being attacked in a pub.
Trouble also flared on Monday in the southern city of Plymouth and again in Belfast, where hundreds of rioters threw petrol bombs and heavy masonry at officers and set a police Land Rover on fire.
Messages online say immigration centres and law firms aiding migrants would be targeted on Wednesday.
The prospect of clashes between white and ethnic minority groups revived memories of race riots that broke out in Oldham and other northern English towns in 2001, which an official report later attributed to a lack of social cohesion and a “depth of polarisation,” with two communities living “parallel lives.”
What started the U.K. riots?
The unrest began after a 17-year-old killed three girls and wounded 10 others in a knife attack last week at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance event in Southport, a seaside town in northwest England.
The disturbances followed the rapid spread of false information on social media that the suspect in the stabbings was a radical Islamist migrant. A claim that the suspect was an asylum seeker or immigrant has been viewed at least 15.7 million times across X, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms, a Reuters analysis showed.
The 17-year-old suspect was not initially named because of his age, before a judge then ruled that media could name him as Axel Rudakubana to prevent the further spread of misinformation. He turns 18 next week and police have said he was born in the Wales’s capital, Cardiff.
The Merseyside Police said the teenager faces three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Police have also charged a 28-year-old man with stirring up racial hatred over Facebook posts linked to the riots. A 14-year-old pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
What about the counter protests?
Counter protesters in Aldershot, England on Aug. 7, 2024.PA Wire/The Associated Press
Thousands of anti-racism protesters gathered on streets across Britain on Wednesday following the far-right protests and violent racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants.
The attacks prompted the deployment of thousands of police officers, and crowds of protesters massed in towns and cities including London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool and Hastings, holding banners saying “Fight racism”, “Stop the far right” and “Will trade racists for refugees”.
The protesters were made up of a diverse collection of Muslims, anti-racist and anti-fascist groups, trade unionists, left-wing organisations, and locals appalled at the riots that had hit the country.
There have been no reports of any serious disorder, but police said around 50 people in the south London area of Croydon had thrown bottles and were trying to cause disruption.
What has been the political reaction?
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks on during bilateral talks with the Sultan of Oman at 10 Downing Street in London on Aug. 6.Alberto Pezzali/The Associated Press
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has described the riots as “far-right thuggery,” on Monday said the government would deploy a “standing army” of specialist police officers to quell the unrest. But the government has also called on social media companies to do more to combat the spread of misleading and inflammatory information online.
“Let me also say to large social media companies, and those who run them, violent disorder clearly whipped up online: that is also a crime. It’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere,” Mr. Starmer said at a news conference last Thursday, adding there was a “balance to be struck” in handling such platforms.
The government has said riots in recent days were not a proportionate response to concerns about immigration, but violence whipped up by far-right agitators and supported by football hooligans and young people.
The justice department, which is due to release some prisoners early as it battles a jail overcrowding crisis, said nearly 600 prison places had been secured to accommodate those engaged in violence. About 400 people have been arrested so far.
Which countries have issued travel warnings for the U.K.?
On Aug. 6, Canada issued a travel advisory for U.K., stating that Canadians should “exercise a high degree of caution” owing to the “threat of terrorism.” The government advised Canadians to avoid areas where demonstrations, protests and large gatherings are taking place and to be particularly cautious if attending sporting events, religious holidays, public celebrations or major political events.
Canada has four risk levels to measure the safety and security of a destination: exercise normal security precautions, exercise a high degree of caution, avoid all non-essential travel and avoid all travel.
Other countries, including Australia, India, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Malaysia have issued advisories for the U.K. as a result of the riots.
With reports from Reuters and The Associated Press