Thousands of anti-racist demonstrators took to the streets last night in many cities and towns across the UK, to counter far-right demonstrations, following days of unrest following the Southport stabbing. By 11pm, most of the planned far-right demonstrations, over 100, had failed to materialise, after the British government deployed large numbers of police to maintain order, and large numbers of anti-racist demonstrators took to the streets of cities and towns such as London, Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Hastings and Walthamstow.
Anti-racism protests carried placards with words like 'Smash Fascism and Racism', 'Refugees Welcome. Stop the Far Right' and 'Love Not Hate'. In Brighton, only a small number of far-right protesters showed up, outnumbered by anti-racist crowds. The counter-demonstrations come as a relief to the UK, following days of far-right protests, which targeted Muslims and the immigrant population in general, which left the public terrified, police officers injured, shops looted and hotels housing asylum seekers attacked.
The unrest was sparked by online misinformation, which wrongly claimed that the suspect in the murder of three children in Southport, north-west England, in late July, was a Muslim immigrant. He is actually a 17-year-old boy named Axel Rudakubana, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents, who was subsequently charged with murder. More than 100 rioters have been charged following the unrest and their cases have been fast-tracked through the justice system. Yesterday, three men were arrested, one of whom was sentenced to three years in prison.
