British newspapers on Monday reported on violent anti-immigration protests that have erupted across several English cities.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “far-right thuggery” on Sunday, August 4, vowing that perpetrators would face the full force of the law after days of unrest culminated in hotels being targeted.
The protests erupted following a knife attack at a children’s dance class in Southport, northwest England, last week, which resulted in the deaths of three girls. Anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups seized on the incident, spreading misinformation that the suspect was an immigrant and a radical Islamist. Police have clarified that the suspect was born in Britain and that they are not treating it as a terrorist incident.
The unrest spread to cities including Liverpool, Bristol, and Manchester on Saturday, leading to dozens of arrests as shops and businesses were vandalized and looted, and several police officers were injured.
On Sunday, hundreds of anti-immigration protesters gathered outside a hotel near Rotherham, in northern England, which the Home Secretary confirmed was housing asylum seekers. Protesters, many wearing masks or balaclavas, threw bricks at police, shattered several hotel windows, and set a large bin near the hotel on fire, according to a Reuters witness.
