by On Wednesday evening police and communities were bracing for another wave of far-right riots following the disorder seen in towns and cities across the UK last week.
Shops and houses were boarded up, migrant centers were blocked, and 6,000 police officers were mobilized across the country.
But when the evening came, far right riots – for the most part – did not appear. This is despite widely reported plans for groups to mobilize around 100 targets across the country, including nearly 40 migrant centres.
Instead, counter-protests turned out to be thousands of target sites. On the streets of Walthamstow, East London, around 5,000 anti-racism protesters could be seen holding placards reading ‘No Room for Racism’ and ‘Refugees Welcome’.
Similar scenes emerged in places such as Brighton, Bristol, Newcastle and Liverpool. These were very different images from what the country saw in Southport last week or across England and Northern Ireland over the weekend.
Hundreds of people were arrested and dozens of police officers were injured as a result of the disorder last week. Police said intelligence suggests more riots can be expected, but many take Wednesday’s events as a sign that the worst may be over.
Why, then, did riots mobilize far on the right on Wednesday as they did last week? Here’s everything you need to know:
Number of arrests
Over 400 people have now been arrested following last week’s disorder, many during the events and some in the days that followed. Police raided houses, taking them into custody after identifying them as suspects through investigation.
Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said: “We’ve been out doing some dawn raids this morning, the most violent people in the Whitehall protests and violence last week … around 70 per cent have criminal backgrounds them.”
“We have criminal damage, violence, weapons offences, football banning orders. These are criminal thugs. Any suggestion that they are patriots, or that they have any cause they are protesting about, is nonsense, and frankly, most of them will be charged with violent disorder and most of them will go to jail for for a few years. .”
Images and footage on social media are also working on the side of the authorities. Features developed in recent years, such as live streaming and location tagging, will be useful for police to gather information. A police source told the Guardian: “Each force will have analysts monitoring social media, [such as] TikTok, for evidence gathering purposes.”
Footage of arrests and house raids is likely to have a strong chilling effect on those contemplating riots who do not want to be in the same location.
Severe sentence
Following the disorder in Southport and further afield, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) worked to swiftly sentence those involved in the riot. Many have already been sentenced, their cases moved to the top of the queue despite the UK’s sometimes years-long backlog of court cases.
Three men were the first to be jailed on Wednesday for their involvement in the Southport riots. Derek Drummond, 58, from Southport, who has been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker, was given the longest sentence.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, said: “There are sentencing guidelines which suggest that many people who have been caught up in this disorder will be sent to prison immediately. There should be no doubt about that. They are going to jail.
“We are willing to look at terrorist offences. I understand at least one case where that is happening.”
The strong language from Mr Parkinson, echoed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and home secretary Yvette Cooper, is likely to have put off many would-be rioters. And now that we are seeing the kind of sentence that people can expect to receive for engaging in violence, the deterrent is even stronger.
Counter-protest
Unlike the far-right riots last week, the targeting plans for Wednesday were shared far and wide on social media. Organizers may have felt emboldened to share details more openly after the relatively high turnout for the riots over the weekend.
Shops, homes and the targeted migrant centers prepared for violence by boarding up their windows and even barricading doors. Police forces responded by deploying more than 6,000 officers to deal with more potential disorder.
But perhaps most important of all is the massive presence of anti-racism counter-protests in parts of the UK. These huge crowds have affected the presence of the far right in most places, already dwindling compared to recent days.
The movements were organized with the help of the campaign group Stand Up to Racism. The anti-racism organization has organized dozens of additional protests for Saturday’s ‘National Day of the Amazing’, which aims to “stop the far right”. In London, the crowd will gather outside the headquarters of Reform UK.
Commenting on the scenes in London, Mr Rowley said: “It was a huge police operation. I’m very happy with how it went.”
“We put thousands of officers on the streets, and I think the show of force from the police, and frankly, the unity of the communities together, overcame the challenges we saw, and it ended peacefully last night. “
