United Kingdom, anti-racist demonstrations across the country

Thousands of anti-racist protesters took to the streets last night in many cities and towns across the UK to counter far-right demonstrations, following days of unrest following the Southport stabbing. By 11pm, most of the planned far-right demonstrations, more than 100, had failed to materialise, after the UK government deployed large numbers of police to maintain order, and large numbers of anti-racist protesters took to the streets in cities and towns including London, Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Hastings and Walthamstow.

The anti-racism protesters carried banners with slogans such as “Smash fascism and racism”, “Refugees welcome. Stop the far right” and “Love, not hate”. In Brighton, only a small number of far-right protesters turned up, outnumbered by anti-racist crowds. The counter-demonstrations were a relief for the UK after days of far-right protests that targeted Muslims and the wider immigrant population, leaving the public terrorised, police injured, shops looted and hotels housing asylum seekers attacked.

The unrest was sparked by online misinformation, which wrongly claimed that the suspect in the murder of three children in Southport, northwest England, in late July was a Muslim immigrant. In fact, he was a 17-year-old boy called Axel Rudakubana, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, who was later charged with murder. More than 100 protesters have been charged following the unrest, and their cases have been quickly moved through the justice system. Yesterday, three men were arrested, one of whom was sentenced to three years in prison.