Far-right violence has swept the UK following the murder of three young girls
Online misinformation spread rapidly with claims the suspect was an illegal immigrant and a Muslim
The suspect was born in Wales and is believed to come from a Christian background, it’s not yet known what his motive was
Far-right protesters turned out onto the streets, smashing buildings and cars, looting shops and attacking police and emergency workers
Elon Musk, social media and Russian interference have been blamed for their role in the unrest
The country had planned for mass violence on Wednesday – but it failed to materialise
Far right protests UK: Why did the far-right riots fail to materialise last night?
Following a week of chaos and disorder across England and Northern Ireland, last night marked a significant turn of events. The far-right have been rioting for more than 7 days and last night there were expected to be more than 100 demonstrations. If the previous demonstrations from the far-right are anything to go by – demonstration means riots. The nation held its breath amid fears of further violence.
For much of the last 7 days, England and Northern Ireland have seen shameful scenes of violence leaving families afraid to leave their homes after far-right thugs attacked Muslims and non-white people, set buildings and cars on fire, attacked police officers and looted shops.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9 and Bebe King, 6 were victims of a horrific stabbing attack
It comes a week after three children were murdered. The suspect was born in Wales to Nigerian parents. He has no known links to Islam and is believed to be from a Christian background. Misinformation spread fast online, with reports saying he was an illegal immigrant and a Muslim – leading to riots and attacks on Muslim communities.
Wednesday night’s planned demonstrations failed to materialise. Instead, tens of thousands of anti-racism, anti-hate protesters filled Britain’s streets where these 100 demonstrations were expected to take place. Unlike much of this week, the marches were peaceful and without violence – they let their voices be known. And for the far-right that did turn up they quickly found out that they were massively outnumbered – they dispersed quickly and without much fuss.
In preparation for the violence homes and businesses were boarded up, migrant centres barricaded and 6,000 police officers were mobilised across the county.
Of the 100 targets across the country, nearly 40 of them were expected to be migrant centres. The target locations saw thousands of ordinary Brits with placards that read: ‘No Room for Racism’ and ‘Refugees Welcome’.
Thousands poured out onto the streets of London, Bristol, Brighton, Newcastle and Liverpool. The images were a stark contrast to what the country has been seeing for over a week.
After a week filled with such hate, misinformation and racism Britain turned up in its tens of thousands to bring an end to the far-right thuggery.
So why did Wednesday’s riots fail to mobilise?
Last night saw the country come together to reject the worst far-right violence we’ve seen in a decade. Hopefully, it’ll send a message and bring an end to the shameful scenes the country has endured this week, at the hands of a few, but has still caused enormous damage
‘Arrests and sentences’
One of the major reasons police believe last night’s planned disorder failed to happen was due to the number of people who have been arrested, many during the events and some in the aftermath.
Police have raided homes after being able to identify suspects.
Met Police Commissioner, Mark Rowley, said: “We’ve been out doing some dawn raids this morning, the people who were most violent in the Whitehall protests and violence last week … about 70 percent of them have got criminal backgrounds.”
“We’ve got criminal damage, violence, weapons offences, football banning orders. These are criminal thugs. Any suggestion that they’re patriots, or they’ve got a cause that they’re protesting about is nonsense, and frankly, most of them are going to be charged with violent disorder and most of them are going to prison for a few years.”
Social media may have helped stir up much of the chaos but images and footage online have helped police to identify suspects. Features that have been developed over the past few years, such as livestreaming and location tagging, will prove useful for police to gather intelligence.
Footage of arrests and raids on homes will likely have a strong deterrent effect on those considering rioting who don’t want to end up in the same position.
Far-right violence has swept the UK following the murder of three young girls
The quick and tough sentences will also prove to be another deterrent. Several people have already been locked up with their cases being moved to the top of the queue. Three men became the first to be locked up on Wednesday for their role including a three-year sentence for Derek Drummond, 58, who pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, said: “There are sentencing guidelines which indicate that many people who have been caught up in this disorder will face immediate imprisonment. There should be no doubt about that. They are going to prison.
“We are willing to look at terrorism offences. I’m aware of at least one instance where that is happening.”
The tough stance from the police and the government will likely also put off the rioters. And with years-long sentences on the cards – and potential terrorism charges, the rioting will be less appealing.
More anti-racism protesters turned out to protect Britain’s streets than far-right thugs
‘Counter-protesting out numbers rioters’
Unlike the initial seven days of rioting, the 100 targeted plans for Wednesday were shared on social media. A list circulated on Twitter allowed people far and wide to see where the far right wanted to cause trouble.
For the organisers of the disorder, after a relatively high turn-out for the riots over the weekend, they could have felt this would bring even more people out for Wednesday.
The list also allowed police to see where they were planning to attend. Shops, homes and migrant centres were boarded up in preparation for the violence. Police responded by deploying more than 6,000 cops to deal with potential disorder.
It also allowed the public to see the far-right plans. In response, the British public organised massive anti-racist counter-protesting in locations all over the UK. The massive crowds outweighed the presence of the far right.
The turnouts were organised by Stand Up to Racism. The anti-racist organisation has organised dozens of further protests for a ‘National Day of Protest’ on Saturday, aiming to “stop the far-right”. In London, the crowd will gather outside of the Reform UK head office.
Commenting on the scenes in London, Mr Rowley said: “It was a massive policing operation. I’m really pleased with how it went.”
“We put thousands of officers on the streets, and I think the show of force from the police, and frankly, the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen, and it went up very peacefully last night.”
Last night saw the country come together to reject the worst far-right violence we’ve seen in a decade. Hopefully, it’ll send a message and bring an end to the shameful scenes the country has endured this week, at the hands of a few, but that has caused enormous damage.
It’s now time to turn the attention back to the three young victims – and allow the families and their communities the space for healing and peace.
There will be hope that the violence has now come to an end
