UK PM Reacts Strongly as Police Arrest Over 100 Anti-Immigration Protesters (videos)
Police across the UK have arrested at least 100 individuals following violent clashes involving far-right anti-immigration groups this weekend.
In cities such as Liverpool, Hull, Bristol, Leeds, Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Belfast, Nottingham, and Manchester, protesters threw bricks, launched fireworks, smashed windows of hotels housing asylum seekers, attacked shops, and set fires, leading to multiple confrontations with police.
In response, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has expressed full support for the police, urging firm action against the “extremists.”
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned that those involved in the “criminal disorder and violent thuggery” will face consequences.
“The Prime Minister emphasized that the police have our full support to act against extremists attacking officers, disrupting businesses, and intimidating communities,” stated Downing Street.
“The right to freedom of expression is distinct from the violent disorder we have seen. There is no excuse for any violence, and the government backs the police to take all necessary actions to keep our streets safe,” the statement added.
UK Policing Minister Diana Johnson told the BBC, “People are frightened because of the color of their skin, and that is unacceptable. This government will take every action to address this.”
“When I saw people looting shops in the city center, it was not about protesting immigration policies. It was criminal behavior that needs to be addressed,” Johnson added, noting that there are “sufficient prison places” for such actions.
Officials at the UK Ministry of Justice are reportedly in talks with the judiciary, police chiefs, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to extend magistrates’ court hours to quickly process the expected increase in riot-related cases.
Wales-born Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, has been charged with a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance workshop in Southport, northwest England, marking the first incident of unrest earlier this week. The violence was fueled by false online claims that Rudakubana, of Rwandan heritage, was an asylum seeker who arrived on a small boat.
Misinformation has since spread on social media, sparking violent anti-immigrant demonstrations across the country.
Stand Up to Racism, a group organizing counter-protests, has stated that the extremist mobs must not be “unopposed.”
Watch videos below.
I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we have seen this weekend.
Be in no doubt: those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law. pic.twitter.com/uNeJtD8pCQ
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 4, 2024
Gangs of Muslims batter English lads in Middlesbrough with planks of wood after being told by @Keir_Starmer they're all "far right edl thugs".
He created this mess with his lazy rhetoric, and still he blames the public. pic.twitter.com/ZVMYe1t5XY
— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) August 4, 2024
Violent anti-immigration protests grip the UK 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/LsOIpXCUyE
— @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) August 4, 2024