Thousands of police and anti-racism protesters gathered across Britain on Wednesday to challenge expected far-right groups that failed to materialize following more than a week of violent racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants.
Britain has been hit by a series of riots that erupted early last week after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, triggering a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant.
Posts online had said far-right, anti-Muslim protesters would target a list of immigration centers, migrant support centers, and specialist law firms on Wednesday, prompting many businesses to close early and some shops to board up windows.
The reports prompted the deployment of thousands of police officers, and crowds of protesters massed in towns and cities including London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Hastings, holding banners saying “Fight racism”, “Stop the far right” and “Will trade racists for refugees”.
The protesters were made up of a diverse collection of Muslims, anti-racist and anti-fascist groups, trade unionists, left-wing organizations, and locals appalled at the riots that had hit the country.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former chief prosecutor who is facing his first crisis since winning a July 4 election, has warned rioters they would face lengthy jail terms as he seeks to stamp out the worst outbreak of violence in Britain in 13 years.
A 58-year-old man was jailed for three years for violent disorder on Wednesday, while two others, aged 41 and 29, were sentenced to 20 and 30 months, respectively.
“This is the swift action we’re taking. If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law,” Starmer said.
Migration to Britain was a major factor in its 2016 vote to leave the European Union and it was a battleground during last month’s election, with Nigel Farage’s Reform Party winning around 4 million votes on calls for tighter border controls.
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