Thousands of Britons rally to denounce racist violence in the country

Photo: Benjamin Cremel Agence France-Presse People hold anti-racist placards as they take part in a “Stop the Far Right” protest outside the headquarters of the anti-immigration political party Reform UK in London on August 10, 2024. Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, whose anti-immigration party Reform UK won 14% of the vote in the July 4 general election, suggested that the recent riots were the result of legitimate grievances over immigration, rather than just the acts of far-right thugs, and warned that worse could be on the streets.

Published at 8:51 p.m.

• Europe

Thousands of Britons took part in anti-racist rallies on Saturday in response to the week-long far-right riots that rocked the United Kingdom.

The last major clashes between police and rioters took place on Monday evening, but the police remain on alert for this weekend due to the risk of a resurgence of the violence triggered by the murder of three young girls on July 29.

After a week marked by a very firm judicial response, with hundreds of court appearances and first convictions, as well as a first wave of anti-racist rallies on Wednesday, new demonstrations took place in many cities to denounce the recent xenophobic and Islamophobic violence.

Photo: Benjamin Cremel Agence France-Presse Citizens who came to denounce the racist violence that has marked the country in recent weeks, Saturday, in London

The largest brought together some 5,000 people in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, where the police had denounced several acts described as racist this week.

Fiona Doran, from the United Against Racism association which co-organized the rally, considered that it showed “that Belfast is a welcoming city […] which says no to racism, fascism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism or misogyny”.

A mosque in Newtownards, east of Belfast, was again targeted during the night of Friday to Saturday by a Molotov cocktail – which was not lit – and vandalized, the police saying they were treating the case as a racist crime.

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“This was a racially motivated hate crime and I want to send a strong message to those who carried out this act that this type of activity will not be tolerated,” said Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Inspector Keith Hutchinson.

Custodial sentences

Anti-racist rallies of hundreds of people were reported across the UK: Newcastle and Manchester in the north of England, Cardiff in Wales, Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland…

In London, nearly a thousand people gathered outside the headquarters of the anti-immigration and anti-establishment party Reform UK, carrying placards reading “No to racism, no to hate”, without incident.

“I don't like the right taking to the streets in my name,” Jeremy Snelling, 64, who attended the rally, told AFP

“I'm all for open borders and refugees are a good thing,” he added, arguing that the public should be convinced by “argumentation” and not by the firmness of the police.

“It's very important for immigrants in this country to see us here, white British people, saying: no, we don't tolerate this,” insisted Phoebe Sewell, a 32-year-old Londoner.

The riots, the worst in the United Kingdom since 2011, targeted mosques and migrant shelters.

They broke out following the knife attack that killed three young girls on July 29 in Southport (north-west England), amid online rumours that have been partly denied about the suspect, a 17-year-old boy.

Authorities have blamed the five-day lull on a tough judicial response, with more than 800 arrests, 300 charges and the first prison sentences for rioters and online posts that stirred up violence.

Despite the respite, British media reported Saturday that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had cancelled his holiday plans for next week to stay focused on the crisis.

Hundreds of alleged participants in the violence will soon face trial in a “new phase” of “more serious” cases, said Stephen Parkinson, chief prosecutor for England and Wales.

Those found guilty could face jail terms of up to 10 years for the most serious offence of rioting, he warned.

“This is not about revenge, it is about justice,” Mr Parkinson said, in comments reported by the Sunday Times.

The previously silent King Charles III on Friday night thanked the police for their efforts to stop “the delinquency of a few” and praised the “spirit of solidarity” and “compassion” of those who had opposed them.