The Southport tragedy, in which three young women were stabbed to death while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, has been hijacked by violent rioters and far-right groups.
Since Monday, when the horror erupted in Merseyside, protesters have unleashed chaos on Britain’s streets, breaking the bones of police officers, setting fire to community buildings and looting businesses.
Far-right and neo-Nazi groups are said to have sparked the street protests, using social media to stoke anger and call for hundreds of people to take part in anti-immigration demonstrations.
This has led to men with swastikas tattooed on their bodies appearing in residential suburbs, while others have been filmed giving the Nazi salute or chanting fascist slogans.
According to experts, the riots are attributed to a “networked” or “post-organisational” far right.
A man with a swastika tattoo is seen attending a far-right protest in Sunderland this week
A man in Belfast appears to raise his hand in a Nazi salute in front of police officers during an anti-immigration demonstration.
Far-right protesters descended on Downing Street on Wednesday night carrying signs reading “we will not be silenced”.
A police car burns as officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool following a violent protest on Wednesday
Rather than older movements such as the English Defence League (EDL), the British National Party or the National Front, these protests have been sparked by provocative individuals on social media, reacting to the news.
They use this underground movement to build momentum for their various “causes,” which can be anything from attacks on immigrant hotels to drag queen story hours to 15-minute cities.
And following Monday’s knife attack in Southport (in which eight children and two adults were also injured), a protest was held outside a mosque in the city.
This happened after misinformation spread about the wrong name of the person accused of the murders.
Fake news websites and Russian state media misidentified the suspect, claiming he had arrived in the UK by boat last year and sharing claims he was on M16’s watch list.
According to The Sunday Times, the protesters initially wanted to attack a hotel for migrants but, unable to find one, decided to attack a local mosque instead.
Among those seen at the first riot in Southport were members of Patriotic Alternative, a group Michael Gove accused of promoting neo-Nazi ideology in the House of Commons earlier this year.
One of its leaders, Joe Marsh, also known as Joe Butler, reportedly shared an image on his Teegram account showing a bloody handprint and calling on his followers to a “protest rally” titled “Enough is enough.”
A police van was set on fire near a mosque in Southport on Tuesday night as riots broke out.
A police van was set on fire near a mosque in Southport as shocking riots broke out on Tuesday
Damage to Southport Islamic Society mosque after rioters gathered around the holy building
The rampant violence in Southport began on Wednesday after a poster shared online read “Keep our children safe” and was advertised as a “peaceful protest.”
The riots have sparked further protests and violence across Britain, from Liverpool to Bristol, London to Manchester.
The horrific scenes have left some British high streets in ruins, with missiles being launched at police officers and buildings.
A man covered in tattoos, including a very prominent swastika tattoo on his back, can be heard declaring during a protest in Sunderland: “English, mate, I am” after being complimented on his “purely British” tattoos.
In other images from Belfast yesterday (where Middle Eastern food shops were among those attacked during an anti-immigration protest), a man is seen raising his hand in what appears to be a Nazi salute.
Former chief prosecutor for the north-west of England, Nazir Afzal, wrote this week: Nazi salutes, swastika tattoos, defecation in gardens, looting local shops, attacking mosques, chanting fascist slogans, firing rockets at everyone and burning down police stations – but don’t you dare call them ‘far right’.
—Well, then we are simply pure-blooded “Nazis.”
LEEDS: A masked protester raises his arms outside Leeds Town Hall. The protesters are believed to have organised in response to the Southport killings
A person throws a chair in Bristol amid violence on the streets of the southern city
Debris lies at the feet of police officers thrown by protesters in Liverpool amid horrific violence
A group of well-known far-right figures were seen rioting this week.
Pastor Rikki Doolan, who has spoken of “ethnic nationalism” in the past, was seen in Southport, alongside David Miles, known as Jack the Nipper, who travelled from the West Midlands and is described as a Patriotic Alternative activist.
Meanwhile, Matthew Hankinson, who was previously jailed for being a member of National Action, tweeted during the riots: “Peaceful protest out of anger at the murder of white children by a foreign import.”
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, tweeted: ‘British people are angry, betrayed by their government, our children’s safety has been taken away from us.’
“The media are lying to us and people are fed up with double policing. Basically, if you riot they will listen to you, that’s the message they send. That’s what Southport is like right now. People are fed up.”
Scenes of chaos gripped Liverpool, Bristol, Hull and Manchester last night, with bins set on fire, shops looted and officers suffering from broken bones.
A community library in Merseyside that opened its doors last year after months of fundraising. on fire as more than 300 people took to the streets of a poor suburb of the city.
MANCHESTER: Activists take part in a protest in Piccadilly Gardens, holding an England flag
Horrifying video appears to show protesters running over an Asian man in their car in Hull
In Hull, tyres were set alight as black smoke from the blaze filled the city’s streets.
NOTTINGHAM: Police officers arrest a woman during a demonstration as she shouted her protest
Police officers arrest a woman during a protest in Nottingham’s Market Square yesterday
As firefighters attempted to extinguish the flames engulfing the Spellow Lane Library Hub (which also doubles as a food bank), rioters fired a missile at the engine, before smashing the rear window of a nearby taxi.
Shocking photos from this morning show the burned interior of the library, with bookshelves toppled and glass surrounding the remaining computers.
In Hull, a shoe store was pictured with its windows smashed and a fire inside. The suspects were seen carelessly trading Crocs on the side of the road as chaos broke out.
Meanwhile in Belfast shops were set on fire and wantonly vandalised, with photos taken outside one cafe showing vandals smashing its benches to the ground.
Emergency services are preparing for further outbreaks today with demonstrations. planned in Rotherham, Rushmoor, Weymouth, Middlesborough and Lancaster this afternoon.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged his “full support” to police in cracking down on “extremists” trying to “spread hate” by intimidating communities, as he held emergency talks with ministers over unrest in parts of England.
And Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said those involved in the clashes “will pay the price” and that “criminal violence and disorder have no place on Britain’s streets”.
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