‘A moral stand’: anti-racism demonstrations in the UK after far-right riots | Protest news

In towns and cities across England, thousands of people are marching against racism after far-right riots that led to around 400 arrests.

Liverpool, United Kingdom – The mood was tense in Liverpool as news spread that far-right protesters planned to attack a nursing home charity.

The site was supposed to be one of more than 30 locations across the UK that racist and anti-immigrant protesters had targeted on Wednesday. There were similar expectations in dozens of other towns and cities, enough for the government to decide to deploy 6,000 police officers across the country.

But as the day progressed, the mood improved as far-right protests failed to materialize. Instead, tens of thousands of anti-racist protesters filled the streets of cities including London, Bristol and Newcastle.

In Liverpool, people shouted, “Refugees are welcome here,” as they walked through the streets. A girl held a banner that said: “We will exchange racists for refugees.”

Others called the asylum seeker support center, fearing it could be a far-right target.

“We cannot allow people to attack and destroy one of the most vulnerable buildings of all the people who are most vulnerable in the community and destroy a little refuge that they have,” said a local journalist, who asked only to be named. like Patrick. “There are all nationalities here. So it’s about solidarity, about standing up against ignorance, against intolerance, against hatred.”

The police maintained surveillance.

“I’m very happy with the turnout,” Hashem, a protester in Liverpool who asked not to use his surname, told Al Jazeera. “Good people in our community have taken a moral stand. Far-right hate is not welcome in Liverpool.”

The 30-year-old attended the event, although senior members of the Muslim community urged young people to stay at home following last week’s violence when Liverpool, in northwest England, was the center of violent riots.

The episode occurred in several cities across England and Northern Ireland in what authorities described as the country’s worst outbreak of violent disorder in a decade.

‘I don’t feel safe’

The violence began following the murder of three young men in Southport, a town north of Liverpool, as false rumors spread on social media that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum seeker.

Police dismissed claims fueled by far-right individuals and groups, identifying the suspect in the knife attack as a 17-year-old born in Wales who was neither Muslim nor an asylum seeker. He was later named Axel Rudakubana, the son of Rwandan parents in Cardiff, after the judge lifted restrictions on reporting.

As the violence spread, the government adopted a tough stance – an approach that may have influenced far-right protesters’ decision not to show up on Wednesday. In just over a week, around 400 people were arrested; a man was accused of inciting racial hatred by instigating an attack on asylum refugees, and a rioter who punched a police officer was jailed for three years.

A senior counterterrorism official also said the protesters could be charged with “terrorism.”

The events also reignited discussion around the regulation of social media, including Telegram – a platform popular among far-right circles thanks to its lack of content moderation. The messaging app said on Wednesday it would remove “channels and posts containing calls for violence.”

But the riots shocked many people across the UK, with some describing the unrest as a slap in the face to decades of integration.

Muslim women wearing the hijab who spoke to Al Jazeera said they had stayed at home over the past week, while men had begun walking in groups when on the streets.

The gates of Liverpool’s main mosque remain firmly closed.

“I don’t feel safe like I used to,” said Nabahn, a lawyer who asked not to be named and was among thousands who marched against racism in Liverpool. “Seeing all these people showing solidarity is really good for a brown person – I feel like I’m among my people.”