Despite a strong police mobilisation and initial convictions, the British authorities fear new outbreaks of violence called for by the extreme right on Wednesday, a week after the first clashes in response to the murder of three young girls.
While Tuesday evening was peaceful, law enforcement said they were monitoring more than a hundred calls for rallies across the country, as well as counter-demonstrations by anti-racist activists.
After violence against hotels housing migrants and mosques, the targets this time include centres or law firms providing legal assistance to immigrants and asylum seekers.
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood called the threats “unacceptable” and warned those who took part in such actions that they would “join the hundreds of others who have already been arrested”.
More than 400 arrests have been made since the start of the clashes and more than 120 people have been charged, according to the prosecutor’s office.
British law provides for up to 10 years in prison for participating in riots or vandalism, seven years for inciting racial hatred, the Home Office reminded X.
Anti-terrorism legislation
A 58-year-old man, for example, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a member of the emergency services last Tuesday in Southport, a town in the northwest of England where the first violence took place.
“This is the rapid action we are taking,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X, as he has been issuing a series of firm messages against the rioters.
Counter-terrorism chief Matt Jukes has warned that authorities are not ruling out using counter-terrorism legislation in response to some violence. One case in particular is “under active review”, said Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions for England and Wales.
“No one is safe from the law,” London police chief Mark Rowley warned on British television, attacking “keyboard warriors” who spread hateful content.
Media regulator Ofcom has called on platforms and websites to do more to combat messages “that incite violence or hatred”.
Concern among the British
It has now been a week since the United Kingdom has been confronted with scenes of racist violence, after the circulation of partly denied information on the profile of the alleged perpetrator of a knife attack in a dance class in which three girls aged six to nine were killed in Southport.
The suspect was presented as a Muslim asylum seeker. He was in fact born in Cardiff, Wales, and his family is, according to British media, originally from Rwanda.
Since then, mosques and hotels have been targeted in clashes that have left dozens of security forces injured.
The government said a reserve “army” of 6,000 specialised law enforcement officers would be on standby this week and that 567 prison places would be available to hold troublemakers.
In London, the police assured early this afternoon that they had 1,300 additional officers “ready to be deployed”, in addition to the thousands already mobilised.
In Belfast, Northern Ireland, Tuesday evening was marred by racist incidents and police arrested six people aged between 14 and 41.
A Savanta poll published on Wednesday showed that 67% of Britons are worried about the rise of the far right. Another poll published by YouGov found that immigration was the main challenge facing the country for 51% of respondents, up 10 points in three weeks and the highest level in almost a decade.