UK police step up deployment after anti-Muslim riots | News

ByAugusto Kilone

British police have increased their presence to contain anti-Muslim riots and protests led by the far right, with fears of escalating unrest following the stabbing deaths of three girls and the spread of misinformation about the attacker.

Renewed violence on the streets of Britain on Saturday evening left several police officers injured as they tried to deal with four days of unrest following the killing of three young girls in northwest England last week and the spread of misleading information about the attacker.

Mosque imams are increasingly concerned as a mosque in the north-eastern city of Sunderland and another in the north-western city of Southport were attacked during clashes between police and demonstrators.

More than 30 calls have been made across Britain for protests, most under the anti-immigration slogan “Enough is enough”, which has been widely shared on social media, according to anti-racism group Hope Not Hate.

On Saturday, several British cities witnessed demonstrations, including Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Portsmouth, London, and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Riots involving hundreds of anti-immigration protesters have erupted in several towns and cities in recent days after false information spread rapidly online that a “radical Muslim immigrant” was suspected of carrying out a knife attack on children at a dance in the city of Southport on Monday.

Police say the suspect, Axel Rudakopana, is 17 years old and was born in Cardiff, Wales.

But anti-immigration and anti-Muslim protests have continued and turned violent and rioting, with Liverpool police saying on Saturday that a number of officers had been injured as they tried to control “serious disorder” in the city centre.

The London Metropolitan Police confirmed in a statement that it “will not tolerate individuals who use the right to protest as a means of committing violence or inciting racial or religious hatred towards residents or police.”

Authorities have asked mosques across the country to step up security measures, while police have deployed more personnel.

Government anger

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused the “extreme right” of causing the violence and has backed police in taking tough action.

Starmer's office said the prime minister discussed the unrest with a number of senior officials on Saturday.

Former Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel, a candidate for the Conservative Party leadership, said the violence was “totally unacceptable”.

Patel called on the government to call Parliament back into session, even though it began its traditional summer recess on Tuesday.

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