Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators gathered across the UK on Saturday to protest against recent rioting attributed to the far-right, following the Southport knife attack that claimed the lives of three children.
Protesters assembled in cities including London, Glasgow, Belfast, and Manchester, among others, with no major violent clashes with anti-immigration activists occurring as feared.
Earlier in the week, anticipated far-right rallies across the country also failed to materialize, leading to gatherings organized by the Stand Up To Racism advocacy group.
Before these events, over a dozen English towns and cities, as well as Belfast, experienced anti-migrant unrest linked to the July 29 stabbings, which were inaccurately associated with a Muslim immigrant on social media.
The rioters targeted mosques, hotels related to immigration, police, vehicles, and other locations. Recent nights have been mostly calm in English towns and cities, raising hopes among authorities that nearly 800 arrests and numerous incarcerations had deterred further violence. Despite this relative calm, UK media reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had canceled his holiday plans to remain focused on the crisis.
In Northern Ireland, where disorder has been ongoing since the previous weekend, police are investigating a suspected racially motivated hate crime that occurred overnight. A petrol bomb was thrown at a mosque in Newtownards, east of Belfast, and racist graffiti was found on the building, though the bomb did not ignite. PSNI Chief Inspector Keith Hutchinson emphasized that this would be treated as a racially motivated hate crime and warned that such activities would not be tolerated.
There were also reports of damage to property and vehicles in Belfast overnight as unrest continued. While the disturbances in Northern Ireland were initially triggered by events in England, they have been further fueled by pro-UK loyalist paramilitaries with their own agendas, according to the PSNI.
Approximately 5,000 anti-racism protesters rallied in Belfast on Saturday with minimal incidents. Fiona Doran from the United Against Racism group, which co-organized the event, highlighted that it demonstrated Belfast’s stance against racism, fascism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and misogyny.
In London, thousands gathered outside the office of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party before marching through the city center under heavy police presence. They accused Farage and other far-right figures of exacerbating the riots through their anti-immigrant rhetoric and conspiracy theories.
Phoebe Sewell, 32, from London, remarked on the importance of showing support for people of color and immigrants by opposing the far-right. Jeremy Snelling, 64, also from London, expressed his disapproval of the far-right’s influence and criticized Farage for contributing to the volatile environment.
Additionally, suspected rioters continued to appear in court on Saturday. Stephen Parkinson, head of the prosecution service, stated that hundreds of individuals involved in the violence would soon face justice as more serious cases are processed. Those convicted of rioting could face up to 10 years in prison, Parkinson warned, emphasizing that the aim is to deliver justice, not revenge.
