Riots have erupted across the UK after far-right mobs targeted mosques, asylum seeker hotels and the police.
The attacks came in the the wake of misinformation spreading online about the identity of the suspect in the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on 29 July.
Crowds chanting racist slurs sparked disturbances in towns during a week of violence, with fears of further demonstrations again this week.
However, the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned anyone whipping up violence online will face “the full force of the law” and has vowed a “standing army” of specialist police officers is being prepared to crack down on rioting.
Social media posts shared online appear to show plans for far-right activists to target dozens of immigration centres and law firms this week.
The location and addresses of centres in towns and cities have been shared on Telegram, along with threats of violence. A list of 39 immigration-related charities, advice centres and solicitors have been named on the channel, whose members have exchanged dozens of racist posts.
Death threats have been issued to politicians and other public figures, as well as instructions on how to carry out arson attacks.
Over 400 people have been arrested so far and 100 people charged in connection with the recent disturbances, with defendants appearing in court this week.
Here, i takes a look at how the violence has been unfolding across the country, and where the riots have been taking place.
Southport
Riots first flared in Southport on Tuesday, 30 July. This came after social media-fuelled false claims that the suspect in the fatal stabbing of three girls was a Muslim migrant.
The misinformation led to a mob descending on the area around Southport’s mosque, where riots left 50 police officers injured.
The chairman of the local mosque and several other people were forced to barricade themselves inside, fearing racist far-right thugs would burn the building down.
Attackers set fire to a police car and several other vehicles, knocking down residents’ walls to use bricks as weapons to throw at police.
London
The following evening, violence spread to other parts of the country, with police making more than 100 arrests in London as bottles and flares were hurled at officers near Downing Street.
During a demonstration in Whitehall, organised by the group Enough Is Enough, beer cans and glass bottles were hurled at police and flares were thrown.
The Met Police issued dispersal and stop and search orders in Waltham Forest, Harrow, Hounslow and Croydon.
Hartlepool
In Hartlepool, 16 arrests were made, with an 11-year-old boy detained on suspicion of arson after a police car was set on fire.
Rioters threw projectiles at officers, who defended themselves with shields.
Aldershot
Aldershot became another flashpoint, with a demonstration outside a hotel believed to be housing asylum seekers descending into a “mob-type” protest, according to Hampshire police and crime commissioner (PCC) Donna Jones.
One police officer suffered a minor injury during the disorder, during which five men were arrested on suspicion of affray and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to stir up racial hatred.
A small group of far-right supporters gathered once more in Aldershot on Wednesday evening. They were outnumbered by Dozens of counter-protesters holding “Stand Up To Racism” placards.
Police officers were forced to separate two groups when the far-right protestors attempted to confront the counter-demonstrators.
Sunderland
After a calmer evening on Thursday, the violence escalated once more on Friday night, with police attacked again in Sunderland.
A police building was ransacked and a Citizens Advice premises next door to it was set alight, with officers pelted with missiles by balaclava-clad youths who targeted a mosque.
Liverpool
According to anti-racism campaigners Hope Not Hate, there were more than 30 protests planned over the weekend following the disorder in Southport.
Liverpool was one of the worst affected, with Merseyside Police making 33 arrests during what it branded “serious disorder”. Several officers were injured after masked protesters lobbed bricks and chairs and rampaged through the city’s waterfront.
Police issued a dispersal order in Liverpool on Tuesday night (6 August), but there was no unrest reported overnight. A further dispersal order for south Liverpool was issued on Wednesday.
Blackpool
In Blackpool, there were 20 arrests, with people throwing bottles and chairs and wielding pieces of wood.
Around 1,000 people were involved in the unrest, it is estimated.
Nottingham
In Nottingham, bottles and other projectiles were thrown, with people chanting “England till I die” and “Tommy Robinson” drowned out by boos from counter-protesters.
Fifteen arrests were made.
Leeds
Around 150 people carrying St George’s Cross flags shouting “You’re not English any more” and anti-Muslim slurs in Leeds, but were outnumbered by hundreds of counter-protesters shouting “Nazi scum off our streets”.
Hull
In Hull, three officers were hurt after a group of far-right troublemakers targeted a hotel that housed asylum seekers.
Humberside Police Chief Superintendent Darren Wildbore said officers had “faced eggs and bottles being thrown” as windows were smashed at the hotel, with shops later looted and set alight.
Stoke-on-Trent
Bricks were thrown at officers and a mosque was targeted in Stoke-on-Trent, where several arrests were made and two men have since been charged with multiple offences.
Two people were taken to hospital with injuries that were not believed to be serious after being hit with blunt objects that were thrown in the air, Staffordshire Police said.
Bristol
There were 14 arrests for disorder in Bristol after violence broke out among 200 far-right demonstrators, with reporters saying signs and cones were being thrown and at least one police vehicle was damaged.
There were also around 700 counter-protesters present, organised by the Bristol branch of Stand Up to Racism. A dispersal order has been issued from 7pm on Wednesday evening, local police said.
Belfast
In Belfast, Union Jack flags and Irish tricolours were flown with fireworks thrown amid tense exchanges between an anti-Islamic group and an anti-racism rally over the weekend.
A supermarket owner described how his shop was burned to the ground, saying: “There is nothing left, some ashes only. People attacked this place, racism against Islam and Muslims.”
On Monday night, the Police Service of Northern has said its officers came under sustained attack from multiple petrol bombs, heavy masonry and bricks in South Belfast over a number of hours.
It came after a protest and counter-protest involving approximately 40 people in the area of Ormeau Avenue at around 5pm on Monday.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones said this disorder, violence and destruction “has no place in Belfast or anywhere else across the streets of Northern Ireland” and arrests have been made.
On Tuesday, three men were arrested after reports of criminality in the north of the city.
At around 8.45pm, it was reported to police that a car was hijacked by a group of masked men on Fingal Street.
The vehicle was driven at the front of a business on Woodvale Road, causing minimal damage to the building, according to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Earlier on Tuesday, police said they were investigating an assault on a young boy as a hate crime. Officers said a large group of young people threw eggs at a shop on the Falls Road at 6.10pm on Tuesday. They said the young boy was assaulted by up to 10 youths and sustained a minor facial injury.
Rotherham
On Sunday a far-right mob attacked a hotel in Rotherham that was housing migrants and at one point trying to set fire to part of it.
Rioters broke inside the building, which was housing terrified residents, some of whom reportedly slept in the woods as they were too scared to stay in the hotel.
Tamworth
Another hotel thought to be housing migrants was set alight in Tamworth, with windows smashed and missiles, fireworks and petrol bombs thrown at officers. One officer was left with a suspected broken arm.
Staffordshire Police described the attacks as “senseless violence”, adding that “despicable thuggery” was “completely inexcusable”.
Middlesbrough
There were 43 arrests in Middlesbrough after violence described as “staggering” by Assistant Chief Constable David Felton, with a mosque again targeted.
Manchester
Police have been appealing to the public for information after a demonstration was held outside a hotel believed to be housing asylum seekers in Newton Heath on Wednesday.
A 25-year-old has also been charged with violent disorder and attempted actual bodily harm of a police officer after an incident on Oldham Road. Demonstrators were seen throwing rocks and bottles at police before being chased away.
Two members of the public also suffered injuries.
Further arrests were made in Manchester at the weekend when disorder broke out again in the Piccadilly Gardens area.
Leicester
Police introduced a dispersal order after two protests in Leicester on Saturday, and police said that they had arrested two men, one for breach of the peace and one for public order offences.
Blackburn
One person was arrested in Blackburn over the weekend after low-level disruption in the town. However, there was no violent disorder on the scale of other areas of Lancashire such as Blackpool.
Bolton
There were clashes in Bolton on Sunday after an anti-immigration protest that began peacefully saw the arrival of around 300 people – mostly with their faces covered in face masks and balaclavas – who charged towards Bolton Town Hall.
They began shouting “Allahu Akbar” as they arrived at a point where a separate group waving England flags was gathered.
Fireworks, bottles, tiles and eggs were thrown in the disorder that ensued, and Greater Manchester Police said that it had brought in a Section 34 order to give officers greater powers to deal with anti-social behaviour, as well as Section 60 and 60AA powers for stop and search.
Portsmouth
Protesters gathered in Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square on Saturday, calling for something to be done to “stop the boats”. Speeches to the crowd included an address from Reform UK candidate Melvyn Todd.
A counter-demonstration then formed, with verbal exchanges between the groups. One chase occurred, during which there was a scuffle between police and protesters, but other than that the demonstrations were largely peaceful.
Weymouth
Three men were arrested and two police officers were injured amid two protests in Weymouth, Dorset on Sunday.
Some 200 Stand Up to Racism demonstrators gathered on part of Weymouth Esplanade, away from around 400 anti-immigration protesters.
One officer was hit in the face by a bottle and another was punched in the face.
There are currently no asylum seekers living in hotels in Weymouth, but there had been rumours circulating that those currently on the Bibby Stockholm barge would be moved to the area. The Home Office has confirmed that this will not be the case.
Plymouth
Police officers were injured during “sustained violence” in Plymouth as disorder continued for a seventh day after the Southport stabbings with more than 370 arrests made so far.
Devon and Cornwall Police said six arrests were made in Plymouth on Monday, 5 August after “several officers” suffered minor injuries and two members of the public were taken to hospital.
It came after bricks and fireworks were launched towards officers who had attempted to keep rival demonstrations apart in the Devon port city.
On Monday night, six people were charged with violent disorder.
Durham
Police issued a dispersal order in Durham on Tuesday night (6 August) to head off potential unrest, but there were no violent scenes in the city.
The politics behind the riots
The catalyst for the recent wave of violent disorder across UK cities was the killing of three young girls in Southport, but undercurrents of unrest can be tracked back for years before the latest riots.
On Sunday, five people were arrested in the town of Rotherham after far-right protesters attempted to set fire to a Holiday Inn that was being used to house more than 100 asylum seekers.
The same hotel was also targeted in July 2023, with protesters from well outside the area gathering outside and facing off against counter-protesters.
In February 2023, unrest also broke out outside the Suites Hotel in Knowsley, an area close to Liverpool, after it was reported on social media that asylum seekers were being accommodated there.
The riots that occurred in Liverpool on Saturday took place in Walton, just five miles away from Knowsley.
In both of these cases, it seems the sparks of unrest were already smouldering away, but the killings in Southport and messaging on social media poured fuel onto the flame.
Dissatisfaction over immigration levels in the UK was a major theme at the general election, with the Conservatives warning that Labour did not have a plan to stop the boats.
It was Reform UK, however, under the new leadership of Nigel Farage, that pushed hardest on the issue, calling for a freeze on all non-essential immigration to the UK.
It is no surprise, therefore, that in many of the areas where the riots took place there had been a surge in support for Reform UK at the general election, including in Rotherham and the Liverpool districts of Knowsley and Walton.
The same can be said for multiple other areas where violence broke out, including Hartlepool, Hull, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
While it should be noted that many of those arrested during the recent disorder were not from the area where they were rioting, the high proportion of Reform UK voters does suggest there may be a sense of dissatisfaction about immigration in the cities in question.
