Civil unrest from 30 July to 5 August 2024
From 30 July to 5 August 2024, far-right, anti-immigration protests and riots occurred in England and Northern Ireland, within the United Kingdom. This followed a mass stabbing in Southport on 29 July in which three children were killed. The riots were fuelled by false claims circulated by far-right groups that the perpetrator of the attack was a Muslim and an asylum seeker, in addition to broader Islamophobic, racist, and anti-immigrant sentiments that had grown leading up to the protests. The disorder included racist attacks, arson, and looting and was the largest incident of social unrest in England since 2011. By 8 August at least 200 people had been sentenced with 177 imprisoned, to an average sentence of around two years and up to a nine-years. As of 1 September 1,280 arrests and nearly 800 charges had been made in relation to the unrest.
The riots began in Southport, just a few streets away from where the attack took place. A demonstration outside the Southport Mosque quickly turned violent and protesters attacked police officers, injuring over fifty, burned a police van, and attacked the mosque. Over the following days the unrest spread to other towns and cities in England and to Belfast in Northern Ireland. On 31 July, over 100 protesters were arrested in London and demonstrations occurred in Manchester, Hartlepool, and Aldershot. On 2 August, rioting took place in Sunderland, where a Citizens Advice bureau was set on fire and police officers were injured and several people were arrested. The most severe rioting took place over the weekend of 3–4 August, when anti-immigration protesters clashed with police and counter-protesters, attacked homes and businesses owned by immigrants, and attacked hotels housing asylum seekers. From 6 August the unrest began to abate; counter-protests consistently and considerably outnumbered far-right protesters, and were followed by large anti-racist rallies across the country on 7 August.
The riots had limited formal organisation; instead, rioters assembled around individual far-right social media personalities with the aid of far-right Telegram group chats affiliated with Active Club England, the terrorgram network, and football hooliganism firms. Groups involved in the riots included supporters of the defunct Islamophobic group English Defence League (EDL), including its former leader Tommy Robinson, members of the neo-Nazi hate group Patriotic Alternative, and the fascist political party Britain First. The riots were also supported by the neo-Nazi organisation British Movement and the far-right political party National Front. Rioters clashed with local Muslims and counter-protesters, who were mobilised by Stand Up to Racism and other anti-fascist and anti-racist groups.
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Background.
Cities and towns affected by protests
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On 29 July 2024 a knife attack took place at a Taylor Swift-themed children's yoga and dance workshop. Three children were killed and eight other children were injured, with five of them in critical condition. Two adults at the event were also critically injured. When the prime minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, laid flowers in Southport the following day, he was met with "hostile shouts" from some of the public, with one asking, "How many more, Starmer? When are you going to do something?"
Following the stabbing, there was incorrect speculation online about the name of the suspected attacker. Misinformation and disinformation, including false claims about the suspect's identity, nationality, religion and immigration status, were circulated on social media by high-profile far-right accounts, including by Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist who founded the now-disbanded anti-Islam English Defence League (EDL) in 2009. The false claim that the perpetrator was named "Ali Al-Shakati" is believed to have originated from the X (formerly Twitter) account of an anti-lockdown campaigner and gained a greater audience when repeated by the website Channel3Now, a website known for spreading fake news. Russia was accused of being behind a deliberate disinformation campaign, and as of 5 August 2024, the National Crime Agency and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are investigating such claims.
A newly-created Southport-themed Telegram group became inundated with misinformation, including from the far-right National Front, prior to dissemination on social media platforms. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue stated that the now-deleted "Southport Wake Up" group with 14,000 members on Telegram became integral in organising and promoting the subsequent riots, and inciting hatred and violence. Disinformation was also spread on social media by the neo-Nazi group British Movement, and accelerationist Telegram channels with links to the proscribed terror groups Atomwaffen Division and National Action were used to co-ordinate and organise the riots.
Merseyside Police attempted to quell speculation by confirming that the name being circulated was not connected to the case and was not the suspect. The police initially released the information that the suspect was a male, aged seventeen, from Banks in Lancashire, though born in Cardiff. It was later reported that the suspect was a British citizen born to Rwandan parents, that he had moved to the Southport area in 2013, and that he had no known links to Islam. The spread of misinformation has widely been given as the cause of the Southport riots.
In a separate event, a woman was stabbed in Stirling on 3 August 2024. Tommy Robinson falsely claimed on social media that an "alleged Muslim" had been involved in an incident in which three women had been stabbed. Other accounts spread the misinformation, contributing to tensions. A man was arrested by the police, who described him as white and local to the area. The release of these details was unusual and done to curb misinformation. Nick Lowles, the head of anti-racism charity Hope not Hate also apologised after falsely claiming a separate far-right acid attack on a Muslim woman.
Timeline.
30 July.
At approximately 20:05 BST, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Southport Mosque chanting, "No surrender!" and "English till I die!" Within several minutes, protesters clashed with police. Protesters barricaded themselves and shouted "Tommy Robinson", a far-right activist who founded the EDL. Robinson had been arrested and then released two days prior, before he fled the country, failing to appear at a High Court hearing to which he had been summonsed for alleged contempt of court.
By 20:37, protesters began throwing objects at the mosque and police, leaving one officer injured. A police van was set alight as police deployed smoke canisters. Merseyside Police requested officers from Greater Manchester Police, Cheshire Constabulary, Lancashire Police, and North Wales Police. Riot police cleared the area near the mosque by 21:14 and protesters began dispersing shortly after that as night fell. By 23:14, the riot had ended. A local corner shop was damaged.
The Merseyside Police Federation said that over fifty officers were injured at the Southport incident, with North West Ambulance Service reporting that twenty-seven were hospitalised and twelve were discharged at the scene. Merseyside Police stated that eight officers were seriously injured and three police dogs were wounded. One man from Standish was arrested on suspicion of possessing a bladed article. Police put in place a 24-hour Section 60 Order giving officers further stop-and-search authority, and a Section 34 Order, allowing police to direct people who are engaging in certain activities away from the area. Merseyside Police deployed additional officers after the riot, and ambulance resources remained.
The following day Hope Not Hate warned of the possibility of further demonstrations by far-right groups in several cities across the country. Concerns of further violence were echoed by Merseyside Police.
31 July.
In London, the Metropolitan Police established public order conditions for a protest dubbed "Enough is Enough", the slogan of Patriotic Alternative, where far-right demonstrators clashed with police near Downing Street on 31 July. The Metropolitan Police said that 111 people were arrested for offences including assaults on officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and violent disorder.
On the evening of 31 July, a group of approximately 40 demonstrators gathered outside a Holiday Inn in the Newton Heath area of Manchester, which was purportedly housing asylum seekers. Chants were heard of the group exclaiming "we want our country back", a phrase associated with far-right groups in the UK. Two people were arrested.
Demonstrations also broke out in the County Durham town of Hartlepool on the same evening. Objects including eggs and glass bottles were thrown at the police in response to the latter's riot shields. Several police officers were injured and a police car was set alight. Eight people were arrested.
There was also a protest outside a hotel being used by the government to house asylum seekers in Aldershot. Hampshire's police and crime commissioner Donna Jones described "mob-type" behaviour, and Hampshire Constabulary reported a crowd of 200 people, with a minority throwing objects and subjecting people to racial abuse.
The organiser of a march in Middlesbrough was arrested by Cleveland Police on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
2 August.
On the evening of 2 August, protesters gathered in Sunderland's Keel Square for a march around the city centre. Mounted officers from Northumbria Police attended the demonstration along with officers in riot gear. Police and protesters clashed outside a mosque in St Mark's Road after some of the marchers attempted to approach the building. The protesters chanted "save our kids" and "we want our country back", as well as slogans in support of Tommy Robinson, and Islamophobic slurs. An Uber taxi was burnt and shops looted. Sunderland Central police station was set alight, and trains to Sunderland station were cancelled or diverted to St Peter's. Four officers were hospitalised and 12 people were arrested.
Around a hundred protesters shouting anti-immigrant slogans gathered in Liverpool on the same evening.
3 August.
On 3 August, numerous far-right rallies and counter-protests occurred in England. In Leeds, approximately 150 protesters chanted slogans such as "You're not English anymore", with around 250 counter-protesters chanting "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here". In Manchester, 150 protesters took part in the "Enough is Enough" protest, while 350 locals turned out for the "Stop the Far Right" counter-protest. In Nottingham, clashes were reported between opposing groups of protesters.
In Liverpool, two groups who had been taking part in separate protests joined up at the Pier Head before moving on to The Strand and Church Street. Many shops were damaged and looted as Spellow Library, a community hub in Walton was torched and wheelie bins set alight. A police officer was assaulted after being pushed off his motorbike and another hit in the head by a chair as protesters threw bottles, bricks and a flare at officers. 23 people were arrested in relation to the disorder as two police officers were hospitalised with a broken jaw and broken nose respectively.
In Stoke-on-Trent, a far-right march clashed with local counter-protest groups, primarily made up of Muslim men and youth, outside a local mosque, with missiles thrown at riot police. Three officers were injured and 10 people were arrested.
In Manchester, 'scuffles' with police led to two arrests. Two people were arrested in Leicester city centre and a protest on The Headrow in Leeds led to one arrest.
Twenty arrests were made in Blackpool after violent disorder broke out amongst nearly 1,000 protesters, with bottles and other projectiles thrown at police. Attendees of the nearby annual punk festival Rebellion formed an anti-fascist counter-protest leading to a stand-off in which chairs, bottles and planks of wood were thrown. Police reported there had also been "minor disruption" in Blackburn and Preston.
Police in Bristol made multiple arrests and closed roads after protesters gathered in Castle Park, where they clashed with counter-protesters who outnumbered them. Anti-racist protesters left Castle Park and linked arms with others in front of the Mercure Hotel after receiving information that far-right protesters might target the location, as it housed asylum seekers. The anti-racist protesters arrived at the hotel shortly before the far-right group and the police. The protesters faced violent attempts by the far-right to force their way through the protective line and into the hotel. Avon and Somerset Police arrested 14 people in relation to the protests.
Twenty-five people were arrested in Hull, where rioters attacked police with bricks and fireworks, set vehicles alight and looted several shops, including a Shoe Zone which was set on fire, in unrest which left 11 police officers injured. A