As riots continue to rage across the UK, hotels housing asylum seekers have been torched by far-right agitators.
The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Tamworth, northern England, was set on fire. Protesters also gathered near the Holiday Inn Express hotel used to house asylum seekers in Rotherham. Both incidents occurred on Sunday.
Protests led by far-right groups have turned into clashes with police in several cities, as a wave of unrest, fueled by xenophobia and misinformation surrounding the tragic murder of three young men in a stabbing incident, sweeps across the country. country. Around 400 people were arrested.
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or from those who provoke it online,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a televised speech on Sunday. He called the riots “organized illegal violence” by a minority of Britons.
In the midst of a sixth day of violence, Downing Street held an emergency meeting in the Cabinet meeting room (Cobra).
Here’s what you should know:
What led to this moment?
Last week, during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop at a community center in Southport, England, three girls were stabbed to death by a 17-year-old suspect, Axel Rudakubana. He was born in Cardiff, the Welsh capital, reportedly to Rwandan Christian parents.
False information on social media claimed that the suspect was a Muslim immigrant.
Protesters express their hatred for immigrants. But there is also an underlying sense of xenophobia against minority communities in the UK, especially Muslims, analysts said.
Rosa Freedman, a professor at the University of Reading, told Al Jazeera that the riots were the result of the former Conservative government’s complicity with these far-right “racist” groups.
“Instead of hiding their faces, they are now revealing themselves… we cannot blame a Labor Party that [only] was in government [for] the last four weeks,” she said.
Meanwhile, agitators like Tommy Robinson fuel tensions.
Born Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, the far-right activist and co-founder of the English Defense League (EDL), has been busy posting inflammatory videos to his 800,000 followers on X, condemning Muslims, migrants, the system politician and the police.
He is posting from far away, supposedly in Cyprus. A High Court judge issued an arrest warrant for Robinson after he failed to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday for a hearing in a defamation contempt case he lost against Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi.
Influencer Andrew Tate, who suggested the Southport suspect arrived in the UK on a boat, and MP Nigel Farage, more on him later, are also accused of being divisive.
Where are the riots?
In several cities and towns across the country.
In addition to Southport, Rotherham and Tamworth, clashes were also reported in Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast in Northern Ireland and other cities.
Posts are circulating on social media describing other planned far-right events. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify these claims.
What did the government say?
Prime Minister Starmer said he “completely” condemns “far-right violence”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a recent interview with Sky News: “There will be people who thought they were going on summer holiday this week and instead they will face a knock on the door from the police.”
Nigel Farage, the anti-immigration leader of the populist Reform UK movement who is now a sitting MP, has stoked tensions. In May he suggested that Muslims do not share British values.
“What we saw on the streets of Hartlepool, London or Southport is nothing compared to what could happen over the next few weeks,” Farage said recently.
He also justified the riots.
“The far right is a reaction to the fear, the discomfort, the unrest that exists, shared by tens of millions of people,” he said.
Neil Basu, the former head of UK counter-terrorism policing, accused Farage of not going far enough to condemn the violence.
“Did Nigel Farage condemn the violence? Did he condemn the EDL? Fomenting discord in society is why these people seem to exist,” Basu said.
Police Minister Dame Diana Johnson has promised consequences and action against those responsible for disorder and violence on the streets.
“When I saw people looting some stores downtown, that has nothing to do with genuine protests or people having different views on immigration,” Johnson said.
What is the next?
Police and authorities are telling the public that perpetrators of violence and abuse will be punished. Meanwhile, ethnic minorities and migrant communities are becoming more fearful.
At a recent press conference, Deputy Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, Lindsey Butterfield, declared: “If you were there, we would find you and you would be held accountable for yesterday’s violence.”
Veteran Labor MP Diane Abbott said on X: “Anti-immigrant riots across the country on a scale never seen before. Threatening lives, property and our police force. We need to recall Parliament.”
Dame Sara Khan, independent adviser for the social cohesion and resilience against extremism review, told the Guardian that “extremism and cohesion threats are getting worse”.
“Our country is woefully unprepared,” she said. “We have a gap in our legislation that allows these extremists to operate with impunity.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
