There are riots and violence exploded in the UK after three young women were murdered in the quiet seaside town of Southport in northern England. Last week, while learning to dance to their favorite Taylor Swift song, a 17-year-old boy entered their classroom and went on a stabbing rampage that left three dead and several seriously injured.
After the attack, a UK law banning the public naming of suspects under the age of 18 created an information vacuum, and within hours, rumors of a suspect in custody with a false name circulated around the far-right media ecosystem. Police in County Merseyside, which includes Southport, quickly confirmed the suspect was born in the UK, but wrong information He claimed to be an immigrant on social media.
Nigel Farage, a British broadcaster, leader of the right-wing Reform UK Party and Member of Parliament, when he joined the chaos. released a video The statement cast doubt on official information released by Merseyside Police. “I just wonder if the truth is being hidden from us. I don’t know the answer to that, but I think it’s a fair and valid question,” Farage said.
Three days after the attack, Justice Md Agree to allow The name of the suspect has been released but the damage has been done. While the city of Southport was still in mourning, right-wing protesters took to the streets, chanting “we want our country back”, attacked a local mosque and were injured. More than 50 police officers.
That riot, the day after the stabbing, was the first of many violent protests that spread across Great Britain and in the Northern Ireland capital, Belfast. On Sunday, around 750 people surrounded a hotel housing asylum seekers in northern England. According to the policeRioters broke windows and set fire to a large trash bin in an attempt to gain access to hotel residents.
Robin Winter, a Guardian correspondent in the north of England, has been covering the protests across the UK and shares her experiences with Noel King. An episode of Today, explained. Their conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.
Robin Winter
[The Southport attack] It happened on Tuesday night and had a list of where the protests were going to be held by Friday. They are described as protests. There was a message flying around social media that said, “A demonstration is going to be held outside this mosque.” And then we saw pockets of extreme right-wing rioting: lots of violence in many towns and cities across the UK.
A hotel in Rotherham that housed asylum seekers was on the list. It got out of hand pretty quickly, partly because it was under police: another protest was organized in a nearby town, and they underestimated how many people would likely attend. In total, there were about 750 rioters. They are physically attacking the police, breaking windows, burning things.
They managed to briefly set fire to the hotel with about 240 asylum seekers, which was clearly terrifying. Windows were broken and asylum seekers appeared through the windows. They were all fairly young. Everyone I saw – teenagers, early 20s – looked very scared, very worried. I shouted out the window, are you okay? And I was holding a thumbs up. Many of them were replying, “Okay, okay.” Many of them do not speak English well. And then a man cried out, “I’m not right.”
Police wore fireproof gear and helmets and had large riot shields, so they were safe from fireworks. But there were times when I saw police who were relieved to be on the front lines of this war against the rioters. They would go around the corner or down a side street, and they would just sit with their heads in their hands because it was such a draining and tiring day. A couple of police officers told me it was the biggest riot ever [responded to].
Over time, it calms down. As the evening progressed, it tended to be young rioters who were clearly teenagers. I spoke to a 16 year old girl who was there and she said she recognized many of them from school and some of them were even younger than her.
And it was just a riot. While I was in Rotherham, a colleague of mine was in Middlesbrough on the English coast. It was a different scene at Middlesbrough as there wasn’t really a set goal. The far right was rioting in the city. There were not enough police. Journalists were targeted, as rioters and journalists have a huge distrust among the general public. Many journalists and photographers were injured or had their equipment stolen. My friend, a colleague who was in Middlesbrough, went back to his car and found it completely smashed, and the police had to take him home.
400 people have been arrested, but the arrests are coming because many people are involved. There are more protests to be held, and it is highly likely that it will turn into a riot.
Noel King
Robin, you and the rest of the news media are using two words. You use “riot” and you use “protest”. Those who are protesting: What do they say they want to get out of this?
Robin Winter
Some protests are local to the situation, but have broader themes. You “we want our country back.” Much of this is about a broad anti-immigration sentiment.
In Rotherham – where I was, where rioters attacked asylum seekers’ hotels – there was a feeling that asylum seekers were getting better treatment in the UK than in the British. People were saying, “Well, I have to pay my bills. I need a roof over my head. i have to work And these people are coming here and they’re living in a hotel and they’re not working. not doing anything They don’t have to worry about paying their bills.”
There were also – which I found very ominous – rumors circulating in some communities that certain men were following women home. Or, in Rotherham there were rumors that two women had been raped by asylum seekers and the authorities covered it up. Obviously, as a journalist, it would be a very good story if I could make it stand up. But I am completely unable to find any evidence that is the case.
But in a way, it doesn’t matter, because it makes the rounds on social media. People hear it. Everyone has heard it from someone else. No one is the person it happened to.
Noel King
It all started with a rumor that the boy who stabbed these little girls was an immigrant. Rumors continue to contribute to what is happening? Either rumor or deliberate misinformation—sometimes called misinformation, I think.
Robin Winter
Confusion and misinformation have indeed played a major role in the past seven days. There are plenty of willful instigators on social media—many people, in fact, who wouldn’t commit violence themselves, but would easily incite other people to do so.
Something I haven’t mentioned until now, as well: There is what right-wing provocateurs on social media are calling “two-tier policing.” They believe that white British people are getting worse treatment — more heavy-handed treatment — from the police than Muslims or people from other groups. I wouldn’t go so far as to say “conspiracy theory”, but it’s a huge topic of discussion on the right.
We’ve even heard Elon Musk describe Prime Minister Keir Starmer as a “two-tier Keir”, apparently referring to this absurd and non-existent concept of two-tier policing.
Noel King
Keir Starmer is brand new to the office. This will be his first real crisis. How does he feel about handling this?
Robin Winter
Keir Starmer is a very interesting character. When we had some of the riots in London and other cities in 2011, he was the director of public prosecutions — like your chief prosecutor, basically deciding how these rioters were going to be courted, how they were going to be. Accused’s method of trial was to quickly bring in people and quickly try them. Courts and courts were held late into the weekend to process the large number of rioters.
So far we are seeing something very similar then back. He is very eager to quell the rioters immediately, and you can see the method as well.
I think when people start seeing the big sentences that rioters get for assaulting and setting fire to the police, they will think twice before engaging in violence in the future.
Noel King
We expect more from this; More protests, potentially more riots, potentially more injuries, potentially more clashes with the police. What should we take from all this? What does this tell us more broadly about what is happening in the UK at the moment?
Robin Winter
The summer of 2024 is being defined as the summer of riots.
There will be riots though [probably] Start to die down over the next few weeks, the feeling won’t go away. It’s going to dissipate as long as it took to build it.
I don’t have any answers about what we can do to improve that feeling. This is something I feel very concerned about.
We rarely get into any kind of real nationwide violence in the UK. People from abroad are saying that “this is going to end in a civil war.” It is absurd. But we have to think about this. We have to worry about that because that sentiment exists in other countries, places that don’t have a long legacy of stability. Such things can be a spark that ignites a fire elsewhere.
