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Police across the UK are preparing for a weekend of riots with protests expected in dozens of towns and cities, as a Home Office minister warned of the “potential” for further violence and told agitators that the authorities “will be watching” them.
Rallies are planned in more than 30 locations in England and Wales between Friday and Sunday, according to social media posts monitored by anti-extremism campaign group Hope not Hate.
It follows several nights of violence sparked by the mass stabbing in Southport on Monday, in which three girls were killed and eight other children and two adults were injured.
Home Office minister Lord David Hanson on Friday sought to deter people from participating in any further violent unrest, warning they must “be prepared to face the full force of the law on this criminal activity”.
This week has seen scores of arrests across England — including more than 100 people taken by police during a rally outside Downing Street — after violence broke out at multiple protests.
Calls for a hardline policing approach arose from other quarters. The government’s adviser on tacking political violence John Woodcock, who is known formally as Lord Walney, said forces “should be stopping people gathering” when such rallies were “fanning the flames of violence”.
“People absolutely have the right to protest in this country, but they do not have the right to riot,” Woodcock told the BBC.
His intervention came after Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday announced the creation of a nationwide policing unit to tackle violent disorder, which will deploy measures previously used to crack down on football hooligans.
The prime minister hit out at activists “driven by far-right hatred” and “thugs” who “move from community to community” to take part in criminal unrest.
Hanson said that alongside far-right activists, there may be people “caught up in the summer madness” and other individuals with “genuine concerns” involved in the protests.
Asked by LBC if the government was concerned about fresh unrest this weekend, Hanson said: “There is that potential. But I always say to anybody who’s organising this, we will be watching you.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed the activity of the far right was a “reaction to fear, to discomfort, to unease” shared by “tens of millions of people” about immigration. The newly elected MP said he condemned violence and “thuggery”, but said there were widespread concerns about “societal decline”.
Farage was accused of lending “legitimacy” to violent protesters and “excusing” their actions by Steve Rotheram, Labour mayor of Liverpool city region. Former head of counterterrorism policing Neil Basu also urged Farage to “think very carefully” about “the power of his words”.
The demonstrations this week have involved protesters bearing anti-immigration messages, including “enough is enough” and “stop the boats”.
Ahead of the weekend, many of demonstrators appear to be focusing their attention on hotels claimed, in some cases inaccurately, to be housing asylum seekers.
Police in Greater Manchester are preparing for such protests on Friday evening, including outside two Ibis hotels not used for asylum.
In Manchester, which experienced similar disorder outside a Holiday Inn in the north of the city on Wednesday night, a further gathering is planned for the city centre on Saturday.
That protest is expected to attract a counterdemonstration and to coincide with two unrelated rallies on the Gaza conflict and transgender issues, further complicating policing operations.
The city had already been a flashpoint for demonstrations last week, in response to footage showing a police officer kicking and stamping on a suspect during arrest.
Ahead of this weekend plans are also being circulated on social media for demonstrations in Liverpool, Leeds, Middlesbrough and a number of other northern towns and cities.
The mayor of Greater Manchester on Thursday warned against “mob rule” in the wake of the Southport killings, while Liverpool city council’s leader has accused “outsiders with a racist agenda” of seeking to exploit the tragedy.
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