“OUR STREETS!”
Wednesday evening saw anti-racism and anti-fascist counter-protesters mass in considerable numbers, holding rallies in cities including London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle.
“Whose streets? Our streets!” thousands chanted in Walthamstow, northeast London, where hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters joined the rally under a heavy police presence.
The government had put 6,000 specialist police on standby to deal with scores of potential flashpoints after far-right social media channels called for protests at an array of sites linked to immigration support services.
On Thursday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan thanked “heroic police force working round the clock” and “those who came out peacefully to show London stands united against racism and Islamophobia”.
“And to those far-right thugs still intent on sowing hatred and division: you will never be welcome here,” he added on X.
Courts started on Wednesday to order jail terms for offenders tied to the unrest as authorities sought to deter fresh disorder.
The unrest, Britain’s worst since the 2011 London riots, has seen hundreds arrested and at least 120 charged and has led several countries to issue travel warnings for the UK.
London police said on Thursday that officers had made 10 further arrests overnight, a week after protests outside Downing Street in Westminster turned violent.
Rowley, who joined the dawn raids, said those arrested “aren’t protestors, patriots or decent citizens”.
“They’re thugs and criminals,” he noted, adding most had previous convictions for weapon possession, violence, drugs and other serious offences.
The riots broke out after three girls – aged nine, seven and six – were killed and five more children critically injured during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northwest England.
False rumours initially spread on social media saying the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.
The suspect was later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales.
UK media report that his parents are from Rwanda, which is overwhelmingly Christian.
