Shops looted, vehicles set on fire, property damage and violent clashes with police have left dozens of officers injured in the United Kingdom. In recent weeks, the increase in anti-immigration protests and the violence of far right groups have generated a climate of terror between migrant population of BritainIn response to this increase in violence, counter-demonstrations have been held in Rotherham y Lancaster. This Sunday, the activist group Stand Up to Racism has organized at least seven demonstrations in defense of unity.
The first Minister, Keir Starmerhas condemned what he has described as “far-right bullying” and warned those responsible for the violence that “the full weight of the law” would fall on them. “You will regret having participated in this,” he said on Sunday during an appearance in Downing Street.
According to him National Police Chiefs Councilthe weekend has left At least 150 arrested and dozens of officers injured after the clashes triggered by the multiple stabbing that occurred on Monday in Southportnorthwest of Englandwhere three girls aged between six and nine lost their lives. In some areas, extremists have turned their attention to communities with a high Muslim population, prompting the Home Office to implement Additional protective measures for mosques.
Attacks on mosques and places of worship
The charity Tell Manreports 10 mosques have been the target of attacks and threatsincluding Islamic places of worship in Southport, Liverpool and Hartlepool. They claim that many people are too scared to leave their homes and that women who wear veils like the hijab They also point out that the number of incidents was already abnormally high a year ago due to an increase in hate crimes related to the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
“We have experienced such riots and clashes, but they had been limited to specific areas of the country. We are now seeing them spread to major cities and towns,” he said. Tiffany LynchActing National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Galesin an interview with BBC Breakfast on Sunday. The protests have encouraged an anti-immigration discourse, driven by the disinformation and a campaign promoted on far-right channels.
Migrants in irregular situations, the focus of the ultras
This Sunday, one of the most serious incidents occurred in Rotherhamin the north-east of England, where a hotel of the chain Holiday Inn Express The building, which houses undocumented migrants, was the focus of hostility from several hundred protesters. Some managed to gain entry and set fire to a container, prompting a security deployment to be stepped up until the building was surrounded by riot police. 100 people had turned up earlier for a Stand Up to Racism counter-protest, but left before violence broke out.
In Liverpooljust over 30 kilometres from Southport, the ultras They set fire to the interior of a library which had reopened last year. Protesters tried to prevent firefighters from putting out the blaze, and county police said the library’s floor was severely damaged.
The Secretary of State for Security, Diana Johnsonconfirmed this Sunday that they are looking for speed up the control of riots through swift arrests and convictions that act as a deterrent. The Police Federation has already warned that the additional burden that the riots are placing on police departments across the country has drastically reduced their ability to react to other crimes.
“The Conservatives left the UK to face violence”
Dame Sara Khanwho was an independent advisor to Rishi Sunak for social cohesion and resilience until May this year, and who acted as commissioner against extremism during the governments of Theresa May y Boris Johnsonsays in an interview with The Guardian that recent administrations have failed the British people.
Dame Sara Khan: “We have a loophole in our legislation that allows these extremists to act with impunity”
“This has been coming for some time,” he says. “All my reports have shown, in a nutshell, that firstly, these extremist threats to cohesion are already getting worse; secondly, that our country is woefully unprepared. We have a loophole in our legislation that allows these extremists to act with impunity.”
Khan believes that “Hate extremism has evolved significantly in the past decade, with extremists becoming more professional and coordinated at local, national and transnational levels; They are using social media to spread their ideology extremist and spreading disinformation.”
