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Police chiefs say they have reached a “turning point” in the battle against a wave of far-right riots as the prime minister vowed not to let up in his crackdown on troublemakers amid reports more rallies are planned.
Sir Keir Starmer will chair his third Cobra meeting this week despite large-scale violence threatening immigration services failing to materialise on Wednesday.
Police chiefs described the evening’s events as an inflection point in their fight against the outbreak of violent far-right protests, after only 36 gatherings took place out of a potential 160 planned events identified by officers.
Most were peaceful anti-racist counter protests as thousands took the streets with chants of “we fight back” and “refugees are welcome here” heard across the country.
So far almost 500 rioters have been arrested and 149 charged, with forces carrying out dawn raids to bring in suspects. Meanwhile dozens have already been jailed in fast-tracked court hearings.
However, the prime minister insisted it is “important that we don’t let up” as he prepared to meet law enforcement to chiefs plan for the coming days as police braced for 20-riot related events on Thursday.
Chairman of National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) Gavin Stephens confirmed forces are not complacent and a “standing army” of 6,000 trained riot police will remain mobilised to tackle any further disorder.
Chief Constable Stephens said: “We are not complacent because some of those intent on violence are still out there and at a number of events last night we saw them on the fringes watching, spotting, and in my mind probably making a judgement that there’s way too many police and way too many community members who have come out to make a stand on this.”
It comes amid reports of at least five potential clashes this weekend – including claims football hooligans linked to the English Border Front are plotting to protest in Shrewsbury on Saturday as thousands are set to flock to their annual flower show.
A market in the town with 40 traders has been cancelled amid fears of thugs gathering, and a Thai food outlet has announced it will be shutting up shop to keep staff safe.
West Mercia Police said there was no confirmed intelligence of any planned unlawful activity, but said they remain “vigilant, prepared, and confident” in their ability to respond.
Posts are also being shared on private far-right social media channels promoting potential gatherings in Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Friday, as well as Liverpool, Newcastle and Salford on Saturday, according to reports in The Sun.
Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson confirmed there is intelligence of more extreme-right rallies are expected in the next few days.
“There is now further intelligence of events during the next few days, and we need to see what happens there,” she told LBC.
“I’m cautiously welcoming what happened last night – but we need to get through the next few days. What is clear is that we get the message police are on our streets and the criminal justice system will make sure that people who are engaged in criminality will be brought to justice.”
Georgie Laming, director of campaigns at anti-fascist campaign group Hope Not Hate, also welcomed the display of unity after thousands of anti-racist counter protesters took to the streets on Wednesday - but warned people not to be complacent.
“There is still a large number of far-right events being discussed for this weekend and still high chances of spontaneous outbreaks so we must remember that this moment is far from over,” she said.
Looking further ahead, there are also reports of six further possible protests – with some reportedly planned in Taunton, Birmingham, Dover and Bournemouth next weekend.
Clashes could rumble on into next month, it is feared, with reports of gatherings in Glasgow’s St George’s Square on 7 September and Birmingham’s Bullring the following week.
Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Hill, of Northumbria Police, said they were planning a “robust response” amid talks of a protest in Newcastle on Saturday.
“We are aware of potential protest activity to take place in our region in the coming days,” he said.
“The right to lawful protest is a key part of any democracy, however, we will not accept people using them as a means to commit crime.
“A robust policing presence has been stood up. Officer rest days have been cancelled and resources redeployed to ensure officers are out and visible in our communities to keep you safe.”
Experts warned anticipating which demonstrations will gain momentum is hard to predict after more than a week of clashes in the wake of the stabbing of three children in Southport appeared to erupt “organically”.
Following the killings last Monday, a broadcast channel on messaging app Telegram was set up, titled ‘Southport Wake Up’. It would remain open for nearly a week, amassing over 13,000 members.
Several of the first violent protests were shared on the channel before it was closed down after being contacted by The Independent.
Anti-fascist investigators at Red Flare characterised the mobilisation of far-right activists to protests over the past eight days as the “networked far-right”.
“The far right has moved away from the party or membership group as the main organisational form and what’s driving these protests is a far right interlinked network who can move quite seamlessly from one group to another through Telegram chats,” a spokesman told The Independent.
“I think that’s the nature of it now. The organised far right are less involved in this than they are so far being credited for.”
Hope Not Hate described many of the protests as “organically-organised”, adding: “Most of the previous events were organised by individuals from those locations with support from local far-right activists and racists.”
Police sources also described the level of planning as unsophisticated as they tried to assess a nuanced picture in terms which protests could erupt into violence.
“A lot of what we are seeing is just locals reacting to what they are seeing on social media, what they are seeing outside in the streets and just joining in,” they said.
