The past six days have brought the biggest riots in the UK since the summer of 2011, when the Metropolitan Police shot and killed a Black man in North London.
For Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and other Labour figures, the violence and its causes are largely linked to national-oriented racism and anti-immigration intolerance. However, some of the boroughs where the most intense riots took place have no immigration issues, UnHerd reports.
In Sunderland, police faced “serious and sustained levels of violence” during riots last weekend when buildings and cars were torched. In Tamworth, where a viral video showed rioters attacking a migrant hotel, 0.5% said they were Muslim, whereas 95.8% described their ethnic group as “white.” Around 1,000 protesters were involved in violent clashes, with police horses separating anti-immigration and anti-racist protesters in Blackpool.
These case studies show that there is no precise rule about which places are most likely to experience riots, whether ethnically homogeneous or diverse. Yet places where people feel neglected and completely abandoned by the South East – the centre of power and the only money-making region – are more susceptible to violent protest. Starmer stated on Tuesday:
Whatever the apparent motivation, this is not protest; it’s pure violence and we will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities.
Meanwhile, the West Midlands police chief and a Manchester major are urging people to avoid taking part in any disorder following the riots in recent days.
They made a video to make it clear that police have “no double standards” and respect Muslim migrants. A police officer began the address by saying “[As-]Salaam-Alaikum,” a traditional Arabic greeting.
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster condemned the “disgraceful” scenes of disorder that had broken out across the country and declared that West Midlands Police would not tolerate it, according to BirminghamLive.
I want to make it clear that there is no place for division, hate or racism and it will not be tolerated in the West Midlands. My advice to everyone, is that I strongly urge you to avoid gathering at any events and that you allow the police to carry out their essential duties, on behalf of the public.
Southport Stabbing
On 29 July, Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event. Eight other children and two adults were injured, according to the BBC.
Later that day, police reportedly arrested a 17-year-old from a neighbouring village and stated that they were not treating the incident as terrorism-related. Almost immediately after the attack, there was a false suggestion on social media that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat in 2023, with the wrong name being widely circulated. There were also unfounded rumours that he was a Muslim.
In fact, as the BBC and other media reported, the suspect was born in Wales to parents from Rwanda. The following evening, more than a thousand people attended a vigil for the victims in Southport. Later, violence erupted outside a local mosque.
Local MP Patrick Hurley said “thugs” had come to the town to exploit the deaths of three children “for their own political purposes”, while Prime Minister Starmer condemned “marauding mobs on the streets of Southport.”
According to a timeline published by the BBC, the violence spread across UK cities as follows: on 30 July the riots started in Southport; on 31 July the violence spread across other towns and cities, including London, Manchester, Hartlepool, and Aldershot. On 2 August, protests broke out in Liverpool and Sunderland.
The following day, 3 August, incidents also occurred in Belfast, Blackpool, Nottingham, Hull, Bristol, and Portsmouth. On 4 August violence spread to Middlesbrough, Rotherham, Tamworth, and Weymouth. A day later, on 5 August, protesters rampaged through Belfast, Plymouth, Birmingham, and Darlington.
Amid unrest in Britain, organisers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna cancelled them this week after authorities announced arrests in connection with an alleged plot to carry out a terrorist attack at a concert-like event in the Vienna area.
Protests subside
Liverpool’s largest mosque has blocked off most entrances for the first time this week, with people in reflective waistcoats taking turns patrolling and a handful of worshippers sleeping inside at night. Officials at the Al-Rahma Mosque say these are all necessary precautions during the worst riots in the UK in years.
Two rioters have been sentenced for taking part in a riot in Merseyside following an attack in Southport. Judge Andrew Menary sentences William Nelson Morgan and John O’Malley for violent disorder and possession of offensive weapons, and violent disorder respectively.
Menary stated that “nonsense” published online after the Southport attack was used as a “pretext for widespread violence.” It came after Sir Mark Rowley said on Thursday morning that a “police and community presence” had deterred rioters amid fears of rioting on Wednesday.
I’m really pleased 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 show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen.
