Editor-DN
Police officers and protesters face off during a protest against illegal immigration in Britain
Liverpool:
Fresh incidents of street violence in British cities on Saturday left scores of police officers injured as they faced a fourth day of unrest following the murders of three teenage girls in northwest England earlier in the week.
Riots involving hundreds of anti-immigration protesters have erupted in several towns and cities in recent days after misinformation spread quickly on social media that Monday’s stabbing at a children’s dance class in Southport was a suspect. The radical Muslim was a migrant.
Police have said the suspect, 17-year-old Axel Rodacobana, was born in Cardiff, Wales, but anti-immigration and anti-Muslim protests have continued, turning violent and rioting, as recently as Friday evening. In the northeastern city of Sunderland.
Police in Liverpool said on Saturday that a number of officers were injured while dealing with a “serious disturbance” in the city centre.
In the eastern city of Hull, authorities said four people were arrested and three officers injured while dealing with protests where bottles were thrown.
Mosques across the country have been advised to beef up security while police have deployed additional personnel.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who faces his first major test since being elected a month ago, has condemned the “far-right” for the violence and backed police to crack down. His office said he discussed the defect with senior ministers on Saturday.
The last large-scale violence in Britain was in 2011, when thousands of people took to the streets for five nights after police shot and killed a black man in London.
Reuters witnesses in Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Belfast reported a tense atmosphere on Saturday afternoon as police tried to prevent several hundred rival protesters from clashing.
Clashes and violence broke out in some cities, including Liverpool, where eggs, beer cans and smoke grenades were thrown, while in Belfast, some businesses reported property damage.
“I have no reason why they attacked us,” said Rahmi Akiol, standing outside her cafe in Belfast, whose glass doors were smashed after dozens of people threw bottles and chairs.
“I’ve lived here for 35 years. My kids, my wife is from here. I don’t know what to say, it’s so scary,” he said.
During the protests in London, police arrested several people, including one for giving Nazi salutes to counter-demonstrators.
Hundreds of anti-immigration protesters threw stones at police near a mosque in Sunderland on Friday night, before overturning vehicles, setting fire to a car and setting fire to a police station.
Sunderland area chief police superintendent Mark Hall told reporters on Saturday that four injured police officers had been taken to hospital and 12 people had been arrested.
“This was not a protest. This was unforgivable violence and disorder,” Hall said.
The BBC said at least 30 protests were planned across the UK this weekend, with several counter-demonstrations by anti-apartheid groups.
(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)
