UK leader Keir Starmer warned far-right protesters on Sunday that they would “regret” participating in England’s worst rioting in 13 years, as disturbances linked to the murder of three children earlier this week spread across the country.
Masked anti-immigration demonstrators smashed windows at a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Unrest fueled by misinformation about the mass stabbing last Monday in Southport has affected multiple towns and cities, with anti-immigration demonstrators clashing with police.
This violence poses a significant challenge for Starmer, who was elected only a month ago after leading Labour to a landslide victory over the Conservatives.
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or by inciting it online and then running away,” Starmer said in a TV address.
He stated there was “no justification” for what he called “far-right thuggery” and promised to bring the perpetrators “to justice.”
### Shops Looted, Burnt
Footage aired on the BBC showed rioters forcing their way into a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham and pushing a burning bin into the building. It was not clear if asylum seekers were inside.
Ten officers were injured, but local police reported that no hotel staff or clients were hurt.
In Middlesbrough, hundreds of protesters confronted riot police, throwing bricks, cans, and pots at officers. Protesters there seized and broke a camera from an AFP crew, although the journalists were not injured.
Fresh disturbances followed police reports of over 150 arrests since Saturday at far-right rallies in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool, Hull, and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
Rioters threw bricks, bottles, and flares at police, injuring several officers, looted and burned shops, and shouted anti-Islamic slurs as they clashed with counter-protesters.
This violence is the worst seen in England since summer 2011, following the police killing of a mixed-race man in north London.
### Religious Leaders Call for Calm
Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders in Liverpool issued a joint appeal for calm.
“We’re now seeing it (trouble) flooding across major cities and towns,” said Tiffany Lynch of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Late Sunday, Staffordshire police reported another hotel known to house asylum seekers was targeted near Birmingham.
“A large group of individuals” have been “throwing projectiles, smashing windows, starting fires and targeting police” at the hotel in Tamworth, with one officer injured, said the statement.
### Social Media Rumors Fuel Riots
Riots first erupted in Southport late Tuesday following Monday’s frenzied knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party, before spreading across England.
The unrest was fueled by false rumors on social media about British-born 17-year-old suspect Axel Rudakubana, accused of killing a six, seven, and nine-year-old, and injuring another 10 people.
Police have blamed the violence on supporters and associated organizations of the English Defence League, an anti-Islam group linked to football hooliganism.
Agitators have targeted at least two mosques, prompting the UK interior ministry to announce new emergency security for Islamic places of worship on Sunday.
The rallies have been advertised on far-right social media channels under the banner “Enough is enough.”
Participants waved English and British flags while chanting slogans like “Stop the boats,” referencing irregular migrants crossing the Channel to Britain from France.
### Mixed Reactions to Protests
Anti-fascist demonstrators have held counter-rallies in many cities, including Leeds, where they chanted, “Nazi scum off our streets,” while far-right protesters chanted, “You’re not English anymore.”
Not all gatherings turned violent. A peaceful protest in Aldershot, southern England, on Sunday saw participants holding placards reading “Stop the invasion” and “We’re not far right, we’re just right.”
“People are fed up with being told you should be ashamed if you’re white and working class, but I’m proud white working class,” said 41-year-old Karina in Nottingham on Saturday.
In last month’s election, the Reform UK party, led by Brexit advocate Nigel Farage, captured 14 percent of the vote, one of the largest vote shares for a far-right British party.
Carla Denyer, co-leader of the left-wing Green party, said the unrest should be “a wake-up call to all politicians who have actively promoted or given in” to anti-immigration rhetoric.
(AFP)