Incredible sight as counter-protesters take to streets after week of riots in the UK
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the UK after far-right groups vowed to hold 100 anti-immigration rallies, following a week of chaos.
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A feared night of violent chaos waged by far-right “thugs” across the United Kingdom failed to eventuate after tens of thousands of counter protesters took to the streets.
Some 100 anti-immigration demonstrations had been planned, prompting authorities to deploy thousands of riot police in one of the biggest public order operations in modern history.
Britain has been gripped by days of violence in multiple cities, whipped up by online groups and an apparent deliberate misinformation campaign, leading to significant property damage and a number of injuries.
On Wednesday night, local time, far-right groups vowed to stage dozens of rallies at immigration centres, hotels housing refugees, and the offices of migration lawyers and charities.
But in response to the threats, anti-racism protesters took to the streets across the country, including in Bristol, Newcastle, Sheffield, Liverpool, Oldham and London.
That mass saw the vast majority of planned demonstrations abandoned, although a handful of clashes broke out in some areas when some anti-immigration supporters showed up.
By midnight, streets largely fell quiet after those who had gathered heeded police requests to go home.
Anti-racism protesters flood streets
Throughout the night, vision emerged of massive counter protests in dozens of cities and towns, with an estimated 25,000 people taking to the streets in response to 100 planned anti-immigration rallies.
Anti-racism demonstrations were held in Brighton, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield and Middlesbrough, with attendees waving signs reading “No to racism” and “Stamp out Islamophobia”.
In Walthamstow, huge crowds took to the streets, many chanting “stand up to racism”.
The local Labour MP Stella Creasy took to X, formerly Twitter, to comment on the extraordinary scenes.
“Thank you to all who have kept our community safe this evening including police and public services and to every one of you who has shown solidarity in many ways to reveal who we are – honoured to be our MP,” Ms Creasy wrote.
Sites in the city were included on a so-called ‘hit list’ distributed among far-right groups on the encrypted social media app Telegram.
Chilling hit list of targets
Far-right groups on the messaging platform Telegram circulated an ominous list of 39 targets that protesters should prioritise.
“They won’t stop coming until you tell them,” a post read, telling thugs to gather at a number of locations at 8pm, local time, (5am AEDT).
“Mask up,” it added.
Grocery stores run by British Asians, information offices for asylum seekers, legal offices and hotels that are thought to be housing immigrants were among the locations to be targeted.
Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said the circulation of the list of targets could be considered a terrorism offence.
Telegram had been a favourite platform of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the alternative name of Tommy Robinson and founded the Islamaphobic English Defence League.
“Moderators are actively monitoring the situation and are removing channels and posts containing calls to violence,” Telegram told the BBC of its move to ban some posts.
“Calls to violence are explicitly forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service”.
Major police operation
While some anti-immigration gatherings were expected to be smaller and peaceful, police feared others could turn ugly.
About 1300 police from the south east of England and London were deployed to areas in the north of England in anticipation of violence.
Earlier on Wednesday, 41 out of 43 police forces in England and Wales said they were expecting protests.
“Wednesday is going to be a busy day. We are still assessing what is credible and what is not,” a police source told The Sun newspaper.
In a change of tactics, extra officers would be held in “staging posts” around the country, ready to “intervene early and … intervene hard,” Sir Andy Marsh, the chief executive of the College of Policing, which represents police officers, said.
“Every police force will have significant numbers out on their streets tonight making sure that people can go about their lives as safely and as normally as possible.
Violent scuffles in London
The Metropolitan Police made eight arrests in Croydon in London after a series of scuffles involving people who intended “to cause disruption and fuel disorder”.
Among the alleged offences were assaulting emergency workers and possessing offensive weapons, police said.
An estimated crowd of 50 people had descended on the area, throwing objects across roads and hurling broken bottles at officers.
However, police believe the violence wasn’t directly linked to anti-immigration protests but rather opportunistic “pure anti-social behaviour”.
Riot police on standby indefinitely
More than 6000 specialist riot police will remain on standby for “the foreseeable future” to respond to any future violence.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams told The Sun newspaper that officers will be deployed across Britain as long as needed until “the end of the disgusting scenes we’re seeing”.
The enormous contingent represents about a third of the total national force of 18,000 that’s tasked with responding to public order incidents.
Police sources told The Sun the number would increase if needed.
“We have sadly seen a number of our officers being injured and some of our horses and dogs. It is truly awful,” Assistant Chief Constable Williams said.
Groups plan more violence
Chilling messages posted in secret Facebook groups run by far-right groups have exposed plans for more disruptive rallies in coming days.
The Sun newspaper infiltrated closed spaces on social media where anti-immigration figures boasted that police “can’t catch on”.
At least 11 riots have been planned in Ballymena, Newcastle, Liverpool, Shrewsbury, Salford, Taunton, Birmingham, Dover, Bournemouth and Glasgow for the weekend, the newspaper reported.
Organisers intend to unleash chaos to coincide with the start of the new English football season, it added.
A famed annual Flower Show in Shrewsbury, one of the biggest gardening events in the UK, has also been listed as a target.
Far-right figures intend to kick off a “weekend of chaos” in Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Friday night, before assembling in Liverpool, Salford and Shrewsbury on Saturday.
Additional demonstrations have been earmarked in Birmingham, Dover, Bournemouth and Taunton.
A source told The Sun: “So far this protest has been kept off social media so as to make police unaware, and think that nothing is going to happen in Shrewsbury.
“But as you can imagine if they manage to pull the wool over the authorities’ eyes, it will cause carnage.”
Multiple arrests across UK
Police across the country made a number of arrests of far-right protesters on Wednesday night.
Three people were arrested in Newcastle and Sunderland for offences including public order breaches and being drunk and disorderly.
In London, four people were arrested in Waltham Forest, including for possessing a lock knife and a golf club, while one man was nabbed in Hounslow after being found with a weapon.
That’s in addition to the eight arrests made in Croydon earlier in the night.
Police in Bristol arrested a man who threw a brick at a police car.
Three people in Northampton were arrested for public order offences, while a man in Essex was arrested for possessing an offensive weapon.
In Middlesborough, a man who refused a police request to remove a face covering was arrested.
A number of officers tackled an anti-immigration protester to the ground in Blackpool, prompting jeers from the onlooking crowd.
And in Carlisle city, three men were arrested by police in connection to their online activity.
Hunt for far-right thugs
Police have charged more than 100 people so far in connection to violent protests and rioting that broke out across the UK at the weekend.
As many as 400 people in total have been arrested, but further arrests are likely after authorities began releasing CCTV stills of men they want help identifying.
Detective Superintendent Paul Speight said more images will be distributed in coming days as investigators comb through footage of the violence.
“It is vital that these people make themselves known as soon as possible, as we think they can assist our ongoing investigations,” Detective Superintendent Speight said.
“We are still working our way through information, images and footage as it comes in, and we’ll continue to take action to arrest, charge and put before the courts anyone identified.”
Rioters jailed
Several men who took part in riots in Southport and nearby Liverpool and Greater Manchester have already been jailed.
James Nelson, 18, became the first person to be jailed following the unrest. He will serve two months after being convicted of criminal damage.
Other sentences have been far higher.
Derek Drummond, 58, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for punching a police officer outside a Southport mosque.
The court heard that Drummond said he was “deeply sorry” for confronting the police.
“He admitted chanting but could not remember what he said. He believed his behaviour was appalling. He was shown video and accepted it was him,” prosecutor Chris Taylor said.
A 29-year old man, Declan Geiran, was given a 30-month term for violent disorder while 40-year-old Liam Reilly was also convicted of violent disorder as well as racially aggravated behaviour and will serve 20 months.
Some of those convicted were said to have been drunk at the time they committed criminal activity.
One woman, who is due to be sentenced, was filmed pushing a burning wheelie bin towards police officers before she tripped over and was then arrested.
British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has chaired an emergency government meeting to deal with the crisis. He said those causing violence would be prosecuted.
“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.”
Deputy PM slams ‘thuggery’
Earlier on Wednesday, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner visited a hotel in Rotherham housing asylum seekers that was attacked by a far-right mob on Sunday.
Touring the damaged building, Ms Rayner told reporters that the violent scenes that have gripped the country over recent days are “not our British values”.
“[There is] no excuse for thuggery and criminality on our streets”, she said.
Ms Rayner vowed any “online and offline criminality” will be met with the full force of the law and said violence, like that seen at the hotel, is not “a legitimate grievance”.
“We end up in a situation we have here, where people’s lives are at risk, where police officers’ lives were put at risk by a small minority of criminality and thuggish behaviour,” she said.
Ms Rayner said it had been “heartening” to see tens of thousands of counter protesters turn out, saying the majority of people saw the riots “for what it is”.
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