LONDON: Thousands of anti-racism protesters took to the streets in several English cities on Wednesday to confront days of far-right violence that has British police on high alert.
Overnight riots, in which mosques and migrant targets were attacked, have erupted in cities across England and Northern Ireland since three children were murdered on July 29.
Thousands of riot police prepared for dozens of riot-related demonstrations on Wednesday, with immigration lawyers and buildings housing asylum seekers the primary targets.
“Whose street? Our street!” chanted protesters at a rally of several thousand in Walthamstow, northeast London, where some held placards reading “Stop the far right”.
“I live in a neighborhood and we don’t want these people on our streets… they don’t represent us,” far-right Sara Tresilian, 58, told AFP.
“You have to get the message out… I think it’s important that you show yourself to your friends and neighbors.
The government put 6,000 specialist police on standby to deal with around 100 demonstrations by far-right activists and counter-demonstrators that had been advertised.
Courts have also begun imposing prison terms on offenders as authorities try to prevent new problems.
The disorder, Britain’s worst since the London riots in 2011, saw almost 430 people arrested and at least 120 charged and led several countries to issue travel warnings to the UK.
The violence erupted after the girls, aged nine, seven and six, were killed and five other children were seriously injured during a knife attack at Taylor Swift’s dance class in Southport, northwest England.
Despite the police statement, the initial unrest in Southport centered around the mosque.
In the riots, protesters threw bricks and flares at police, set cars on fire and attacked mosques and at least two hotels used for asylum seekers.
Starmer, a former attorney general, promised “substantial sentencing by the end of this week” for the rioters and his government freed up 500 more prison places.
Dozens of accused, including juveniles, have already appeared before the judge.
A man was jailed for three years on Wednesday after admitting violent disorder and assaulting a police officer in Southport.
Two other men were given sentences of 20 months and 30 months for their part in the Liverpool violence on Saturday.
Police blamed figures linked to the now-defunct English Defense League (EDL), a far-right Islamophobic organization founded 15 years ago whose supporters were linked to football hooliganism, for the disorder.
EDL founder Tommy Robinson has been charged by authorities with inciting tensions, and police in Cyprus, where he is said to have been on holiday, said on Wednesday they were ready to help British police if needed.
British lawmakers accused social networks of inciting violence. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has angered the government with a series of provocative tweets, including that Britain’s “civil war is inevitable”.
