Support truly
independent journalism
Members of a Muslim community have apologised after an attack which saw pub patrons mistaken for far-right rioters in Birmingham.
Social media rumours spread that a far-right group was drinking at The Clumsy Swan pub, on Stoney Lane in Yardley, on Monday night.
On the seventh day of disorder on the UK’s streets, huge crowds descended on the area, with footage showing gangs of men in balaclavas, some shouting ‘Free Palestine’ and holding Palestinian flags, after it was suggested the far-right was planning to target the area.
Pub-goer Sean McDonagh, 51, hid under a garden table as he was punched and kicked by a group of men who had gathered to “protect” the Muslim community from the far-right. He said he suffered a “lacerated liver” in the attack which ended when one of the men stood over him.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr McDonagh said he was “not interested” in an apology from the Muslim community.
Asked if he was okay, Mr McDonagh replied: “Yeah, I’m good. I just came out of the pub.. and that was it, walked into them. I didn’t even know there was a march going on. I’ve been back to hospital with a lacerated liver.
“I don’t know what it was all about you know. They called me a few things. ‘I don’t even know what’s going on here,’ that’s all I said.”
But the pub was later visited by a group determined to put things right.
Shaking hands with patrons at the pub, local activist Naveed Sadiq told assembled reporters: “The Clumsy Swan is somewhere very close to my heart because I only live around the corner. And this place has never brought me or my family any discomfort.
“I can only rightly say to the management here that we’re very, very sorry.
“That is not a true reflection of who we are as a community.”
Offering a hand to a patron stuck in the pub during the attack, he added: “To you my friend, I know you were in the pub it must have been horrifying. I’d like to apologise on our behalf. Here is my hand, here is my heart.
“Hopefully we can put it down as a bad experience.”
The Clumsy Swan put out a message on Facebook thanking the local mosque for offering to pay for the damage.
They said: “We are all safe after yesterday’s trouble from mindless thugs using any excuse to go out causing trouble in the community.
“We would like to thank you all for your well-wishes and a big thank you to those at Sheldon Mosque who have reached out to us with apologies from their community and offer to pay for damages.
“Hopefully we will have no more trouble on the streets of Birmingham - we are proud of our multi-cultural city and let’s keep it that way.”
A Sky News van was attacked by a man with a knife as the TV crew attempted to leave the area after being told they were not welcome, reporter Becky Johnson later said.
Ms Johnson was interrupted by a protester on a motorbike who swore and made rude gestures at the camera while she attempted to deliver a live report.
West Midlands Police said it is investigating after the windows of a car were smashed and the tyres of another vehicle were damaged.
The force and the local MP, Jess Phillips, vowed to bring the perpetrators of the latest violence to justice, as more than 400 arrests have been made so far in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
But she was later accused of “making excuses” for the masked gangs after she suggested the rumours of the far-right gathering had been deliberately spread in a bid to cause trouble.
