U.K. expects more far-right protests, warns of tough response

Protesters confront police officers in London.

By Brian Melley and Jill Lawless

Aug. 2, 2024 Updated 1:49 PM PT

LONDON — Several suspects arrested in violent protests that erupted after the fatal stabbing of three children in northwest England made court appearances Friday as officials braced for more clashes that Prime Minister Keir Starmer blamed on “far-right hatred.”

Starmer vowed to end the mayhem and said police across the U.K. would be given more resources to stop “a breakdown in law and order on our streets.”

Demonstrations in the coming days are being promoted online using phrases including “enough is enough,” “save our kids” and “stop the boats.” The protests are being called in towns and cities including Sunderland, Liverpool and Manchester, in England; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Cardiff, Wales.

John Woodcock, the British government’s advisor on political violence and disruption, said there was a “concerted and coordinated” attempt to spread the violence.

“Clearly, some of those far-right actors have got a taste for this and are trying to provoke similar in towns and cities across the U.K.,” he told the BBC.

The attack Monday on children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare.

A 17-year-old, Axel Rudakubana, has been charged with murder in the attack that killed Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the seaside town of Southport. He also has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder of the eight children and two adults who were wounded.

Starmer visited Southport on Thursday for the second time this week, going to the children’s hospital where many of the victims were treated, the Liverpool Echo reported. He also met police and community leaders and residents.

A violent demonstration in Southport on Tuesday was followed by others around the country — fueled in part by online misinformation that said the attacker was Muslim and an immigrant. Rudakubana was born in Britain to Rwandan parents and lived close to the scene of the attack.

Suspects who are under 18 are usually not named in the U.K., but the judge in the case, Andrew Menary, ruled that Rudakubana could be identified, in part to stop the spread of misinformation.

Far-right demonstrators clashed with police outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and hurled beer bottles and flares near the prime minister’s office in London the next day.

Hundreds of mosques across the nation are increasing security, said Zara Mohammed, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain. At the Southport Mosque, Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders gathered to say they were “united to defeat all forms of hatred and extremism in our country.”

Merseyside Police, which is responsible for Southport, said it had made seven arrests so far and had a team of specialists reviewing hundreds of hours of video to identify anyone involved.

“If you took part in this disorder, you can expect to receive a knock on your door by our officers,” Detective Chief Inspector Tony Roberts said.

Police officers were pelted with bottles and eggs Wednesday in the town of Hartlepool in northeast England, where a police car was set ablaze.

Five of those arrested were held in custody after appearing in Teesside Magistrates’ Court on violent disorder charges. Two others admitted they were involved in the disorder and were released on bail until sentencing next month.

Ryan Sheers, who a prosecutor said was bitten by a police dog after repeatedly trying to push through a line of officers, wept during the hearing.

Outside court, Sheers, a former McDonald’s worker, denied being involved despite admitting in court that he was.

“Didn’t get involved in nothing,” Sheers said. “We didn’t smash no town up.”

At a news conference Thursday, the prime minister said the street violence was “clearly driven by far-right hatred” as he announced a program designed to enable police to better share intelligence across agencies and move quickly to make arrests.

Starmer said his National Violent Disorder Program would enable police to move among communities — just as the “marauding mobs” do. Officers will harness facial recognition technology to identify culprits and use criminal behavior orders often imposed on soccer hooligans that prevent them from going to certain places or associating with one another.

Starmer put some of the blame on social media companies — saying the violent disorder was “clearly whipped up online” — though he didn’t announce any measures to address that and said there was a balance to be struck between the value they offer and the threat they can pose.

Melley and Lawless write for the Associated Press.