Closing summary
The more than 100 far-right gatherings that were expected to take place on Wednesday failed to materialise following the mobilisation of 6,000 riot officers and the deterrent effect of the swift arrests and court appearances of those accused of participating in the weekend’s violence. What few small, far right-led gatherings there were took place only in Durham, Blackpool, Norwich, Northampton, Sheffield and Brighton. Police were previously preparing for far-right action all over the country after a list of targets connected to asylum and immigration was circulated on social media.
Instead, thousands of anti-racism protesters held their own counter rallies, everywhere from Newcastle to Bristol to Birmingham, London and Brighton. They formed human shields to protect asylum centres, and waved placards saying “refugees welcome” and “reject racism, try therapy”. While there were some reports of tensions flaring – some skirmishes in Blackpool and a clash in Aldershot in Hampshire between a group chanting “stop the boats” and demonstrators who had been chanting “refugees are welcome here” – Wednesday’s rallies were a far cry from the violence, looting and destruction that led many businesses across the country to close up early and board up their shops in recent days.
Police made a number of arrests around the country, many of them stemming from online activity. In Carlisle, three men were arrested in connection with posting online hate-related content or encouraging public disorder and violence against police officers. West Midlands police arrested a man on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and possession of a firearm following several social media posts regarding protests in Birmingham earlier this week that involved a man holding a firearm.
The messaging app Telegram said it will be “removing channels and posts containing calls to violence” in the UK. The app, which gained prominence in far-right circles as one of the last places that the EDL founder, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (better known as Tommy Robinson) was allowed to post, has become a go-to app for the far-right.
Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, wrote to MPs suggesting they review their security in the wake of the threat of further riots – and that some might want to consider working from home. His letter said those with “prominent and easily identifiable office locations may wish to consider their office security protocols”.
London mayor Sadiq Khan called on people in the city to “check on their friends and neighbours and show them that care and compassion is what Londoners are all about”, adding that he was in constant touch with the police amid reports of several areas in London being potential targets of far-right attacks. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner amplified his message, saying “Mayors across the country are bringing people together in unity to condemn hatred, violence and vandalism”.
Conservative shadow policing minister Matt Vickers, and Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick both made criticisms of Keir Starmer, with Jenrick saying the prime minister “has made a mistake in that he has not shown equal treatment to all forms of violence perpetrated by whoever it is, wherever it is in the country”. Jenrick also said he does not regret previously accusing police in England and Wales of adopting “two-tier policing” earlier this year, nor does he regret saying in parliament in February of this year that “we have allowed our streets to be dominated by Islamist extremists” – rhetoric that many terrorism experts believe has contributed to the recent violence.
Updated
Aerial footage over London captured the breadth of the anti-racist counter protests that took place around the city. Take a look here:
