DW
Police in the northern English city of Rotherham struggled to hold back a group of far-right activists on Sunday, who broke into a hotel believed to be housing asylum seekers.
The disturbance is the latest in a series of violent protests by anti-immigration groups in British towns and cities this week after three girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport in northwest England on Monday.
What happened in Rotherham?
Footage aired on British TV showed officers with shields targeted by a barrage of projectiles outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, near Sheffield.
A few minutes later, the protesters can be seen storming the building and removing chairs from inside to use as weapons.
A small fire was also visible while windows in the hotel were smashed.
At least one officer was injured in the confrontation.
Britain’s Home Secretary (or interior minister) Yvette Cooper called the “criminal, violent attack” on the hotel “utterly appalling: Deliberately setting fire to a building with people known to be inside.” She said police had “full Government support for the strongest action against those responsible.”
Several more anti-immigration protests were due to be held on Sunday, alongside counterdemonstrations, including the northeastern city of Middlesborough, where officers used police dogs to control the crowd.
In the cities of Liverpool, Bolton and Southport — where the mass stabbing took place, — the police were granted dispersal orders, allowing them to stop protests from taking place on Sunday.
Dozens arrested during Saturday’s riots
Close to 100 people were arrested after skirmishes broke out at far-right rallies in Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland on Saturday.
In Liverpool, in the northwest, protesters threw chairs, flares and bricks at police officers. Manchester also saw clashes between officers and rioters.
In the city of Hull, protesters broke windows of a hotel that was housing migrants, the BBC reported.
In Belfast, fireworks were thrown due to a clash between an anti-Islam group and anti-racism protesters.
Opposing groups also faced off in the cities of Nottingham and Bristol.
In Leeds, anti-immigration protesters carrying British flags chanted, “You’re not English anymore.” They were met with counter-protesters shouting, “Nazi scum off our streets.”
On Friday, saw violence erupt as a police station and an overturned car were set on fire.
“Criminal violence and thuggery on our streets will not be tolerated,” UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, adding that those who engage in criminal disorder will face “the strongest possible penalties.”
In , a pro-Palestinian demonstration was carried out as usual despite counterprotesting nearby.
Why did the riots break out?
The riots began last week due to misinformation over a at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party at a studio in Southport, a seaside town in northwest England.
Three children were killed in the knife attack, and 10 other people — eight of whom were children — were injured.
A 17-year-old boy, , has been charged with several offenses, including the girls’ murder, which happened during a Taylor Swift-themed workshop.
Rudakubana is accused of killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, and injuring another 10 people.
Since the Southport attack, far-right social media channels have been awash with false claims that the suspect was an asylum-seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
Police have emphasized that Rudakubana was born in Britain.
He was remanded to a youth detention center and will next appear in court in October.
The unrest is seen as UK Prime Minister first major test after joining office less than a month ago. He has condemned the violence and said thugs were “hijacking” the nation’s grief.
“The government backs the police to take all necessary action to keep our streets safe,” said a statement from Starmer’s office.
Police believe the English Defence League, an anti-Islam organization, is behind the organizing of the violence. Anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate says it has identified 30 more such events set to take place over the weekend.
mm, tg/msh (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)
