Huge UK anti-racist rallies held as far-right protests fail to materialise

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Thousands of anti-racism demonstrators turned out in towns and cities across England on Wednesday night in response to a rumoured wave of far-right disorder that ultimately failed to materialise.

Huge rallies in Liverpool, Brighton, Bristol, Newcastle and London mobilised in the early evening to defend a list of locations thought to be targets for violence, including refugee charities and immigration lawyers.

But despite fears that the evening would mirror the preceding days of racist attacks and civil unrest, anti-racism protesters were met with little opposition and many demonstrations dispersed within a couple of hours.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said on Thursday that violent rioters were “defeated” by a “show of force” from the police and a “show of unity from communities”.

Rowley told the BBC’s Today programme that dawn raids had been carried out on Thursday morning and that about 70 per cent of people who were most violent during protests on Whitehall last week “have got criminal backgrounds”.

“We’ve got criminal damage, violence, weapons offences, football banning orders. These are criminal thugs,” he said. “Frankly, most of them are going to be charged with violent disorder and most of them are going to be going to prison for a few years.”

The UK has been struck by riots and widespread violent disorder over the past week, sparked initially by the killing of three children in Southport on July 29.

That tragedy then spilled over into a wave of rioting, much of it driven by far-right groups, after online misinformation stated that the man who carried out the attack was a Muslim asylum seeker.

As the violence spread over the weekend, hotels housing asylum seekers were stormed and set on fire.

Ahead of Wednesday evening, a rumoured list of more than 30 far-right targets circulated online, prompting a nationwide policing response and anti-racism groups to advertise dozens of counter-demonstrations.

The south coast city of Brighton reflected scenes across the country, as carnival-like pro-immigration demonstrations were met with little opposition.

Four far-right protesters were kettled into a doorway by the police on the other side of the street from the immigration law firm that was on the list of far-right targets circulating earlier in the week.

About 2,000 counter-protesters heckled them, chanting “from the Downs to the sea, Brighton will be fascist free”.

By 11.30pm the crowds had dispersed and police reported that no arrests had been made.

Ali Ceesay, who works for a women’s rights organisation, said it had been a decade since the last significant far-right march in the city.

“The reason they don’t come here is because of this,” she said pointing to the motley assembly of anti-fascist groups and residents, young and old, who had rallied again to run the far right out of town. “It’s important it remains that way.”

Ahead of Wednesday evening’s demonstrations nervous businesses in many town and city centres closed early, particularly in areas which experienced unrest over the weekend.

Police forces and regional leaders issued messages of reassurance to the public amid anxiety, particularly in the Muslim community, that the weekend’s scenes could be repeated.

Nationally, the government pledged a “standing army” of 6,000 anti-riot police, while forces insisted they would be well equipped to respond to any spontaneous outbursts of violence.

However, except for some isolated incidents, including eight arrests in Croydon for what the Metropolitan Police described as unrelated “pure antisocial behaviour”, and a handful of arrests around the country, the evening appeared to pass smoothly.

Over the weekend, Liverpool, about 20 miles from Southport, had been among the areas to be hit by violent unrest. However, last Friday night a community-led counter-protest filled the city’s streets, featuring women bearing placards stating “nans against Nazis”.

On Wednesday night, hundreds of anti-racism demonstrators turned out to defend an asylum charity rumoured to be a far-right target, and they faced no obvious disorder. The demonstration itself, as in many other towns and cities, resulted in no obvious unrest and had largely dispersed by 9.30pm.