Key events
Faith leaders call for calm
Rowena Mason
Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Christian leaders were among those calling for calm at any demonstrations this weekend, amid warnings of potential escalation of violent disorder.
Far-right unrest has – so far – spread to London, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Manchester and Liverpool after three girls were murdered and two adults and eight children seriously injured at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club.
Social media postings wrongly alleged the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker, with a mosque targeted in Southport earlier in the week. A 17-year-old born in Cardiff, Axel Rudakubana, has now been charged with murder and attempted murder.
A group of more than a dozen imams coordinated by the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (Minab) joined forces with Christian and Jewish faith leaders in a show of solidarity outside the Southport mosque that was attacked earlier this week.
Qari Asim, Minab’s chair, said: “This is a time when we must stand firmly against opportunistic and shameful attempts to sow the seeds of division and hatred in our communities.”
The archbishop of Canterbury added to the calls for an end to violence, saying it was “completely unacceptable that Muslim and asylum-seeker communities are feeling so unsafe and I encourage people to reach out and support them”.
Umesh Sharma, the chair of the Hindu Council UK, said: “Whether it is mosques, mandirs or gurdwaras or churches – they should be left alone. Whatever anger, whatever frustration they have, it should not be shown on these buildings. These are places where we pray for all.
“If you want to protest, there are avenues, you can go protest at Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, outside parliament.”
Robyn Vinter
In Liverpool on Friday, the far right were outnumbered several fold by anti-fascist groups.
Minor scuffles early in the evening were quickly stopped by police and by 9pm only a handful of far-right protesters remained, standing under trees across the road from Abdullah Quilliam society mosque trying not to get rained on.
A group of men standing opposite the anti-fascists did not quite have the confidence to admit they were far right, telling the Guardian they had only “come for a look”, with balaclavas on.
Condemnation of the rioting in Sunderland has been widespread.
Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson said he was “appalled” by disorder in the city centre.
I am appalled by the disorder in the centre of Sunderland tonight.
Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble.@northumbriapol have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city.
Tomorrow the people…
— Lewis Atkinson MP (@LewisAtkinson) August 2, 2024
Meanwhile, Sunderland AFC said the rioting was “shameful”:
Tonight’s shameful scenes do not represent our culture, our history, or our people. Our great city is built on togetherness and acceptance, and Sunderland will forever be for all. We are stronger as one community. Now. Then. Always. ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/5HK1wZM9Lv
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) August 2, 2024
The education secretary and Sunderland MP, Bridget Phillipson, described the unrest in the city as “unforgivable violence”.
Commenting on last night’s disorder, home secretary Yvette Cooper said:
Criminals attacking the police and stoking disorder on our streets will pay the price for their violence and thuggery.
The police have the full backing of government to take the strongest possible action and ensure they face the full force of the law.
They do not represent Britain.
Extra prosecutors were called in to work the weekend as police forces around the country brace for further disorder.
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, said:
We take the recent incidents of violent disorder extremely seriously and we are ready to respond rapidly if there is a fresh outbreak.
We have deployed dozens of extra prosecutors who are working round the clock this weekend, supporting the police, and ready to make immediate charging decisions so that justice is swiftly delivered.
Here are some images from photographers on the ground in Sunderland last night:
Dozens of protests planned this weekend across the UK
Robyn Vinter
The Sunderland protest was among several planned across the UK this weekend after the knife attack in Southport on Monday, fuelled by misinformation on social media about the background and religion of the 17-year-old suspect.
Anti-racism group Hope Not Hate said up to 35 protests were due to take place across the UK this weekend “under a broad anti-multiculturalism, anti-Muslim and anti-government agenda”.
They include Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster, Glasgow, Hanley, High Wycombe, Hull, Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Preston, St Helens, Stoke-on-Trent, Swindon and Wrexham.
Police injured and arrests made on another night of disorder
Nadeem Badshah
Eight people have been arrested in Sunderland for offences including violent disorder and burglary after another night of rioting and disorder in parts of the UK.
Three police officers were taken to hospital after being injured, Northumbria police added. One had since been discharged.
At least one building was reportedly set on fire, and a car was also overturned and set alight as police struggled to control a crowd of several hundred protesters.
Some of the protesters wore balaclavas and some were draped in the England flag, with police officers being hit with beer cans and stones in the city centre and a nearby mosque on St Mark’s Road.Posting on social media about the building on fire, Nick Lowles, from the organisation Hope Not Hate, said: “A far right and racist protest has culminated in this. Shame on all those who continue to excuse these protests.”
It was initially reported that a police building had been set on fire but later reports suggested an adjacent building was instead set alight.
An overturned car was set on fire and rioters set off fire extinguishers against officers.
The protests, promoted by far-right activists on social media, had started at the newly refurbished Keel Square. Footage posted on social media showed young men throwing stones at police and shouting “Whose streets? Our streets” as well as Islamophobic chants.
