Following the outbreak of right-wing extremist riots across the UK last week, anti-racism activists took to the streets in more than 50 cities on Saturday.
Hundreds of protesters marched in Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Hull and Glasgow, with the largest demonstration attracting 15,000 participants in Belfast.
Meanwhile in London, thousands of anti-racism demonstrators gathered outside Reform UK headquarters, where organisers of the event accused party leader Nigel Farage of spreading “dangerous rhetoric”.
Around 5,000 people from “Stand Up to Racism” gathered and marched through central London to Trafalgar Square to hear activists speak in support of refugees and migrants.
Samira Ali, who gave the closing speech, accused Nigel Farage of “stoking the fires of bigotry and Islamophobia”.
Only around 60 far-right protesters gathered in Newcastle after young people were arrested by police during a “enough is enough” demonstration, shouting “go home” and “go back to where you came from”.
Near The Gate shopping centre in Newcastle city centre, a line of police formed a barrier between the two groups, who were vastly outnumbered by a large crowd of anti-racism protesters.
Sky News reported that another man held up a small cross and chanted “Christ is King” as the remaining protesters were dispersed by police.
In Scotland, hundreds also gathered in Glasgow’s George Square, the traditional centre of demonstrations and protests, while in Belfast up to 15,000 people took part in an anti-racism rally after a week of rioting and unrest.
Saturday’s protest began in Writers’ Square, where a large crowd gathered, many of them holding signs with anti-racist and pro-immigration messages, and demonstrators chanted “What do we do when immigrants’ rights are under attack?”.
Elsewhere in the UK, anti-racism protests took place in Hull and Oxford, where crowds gathered holding handmade posters that read: “Salford residents welcome refugees” and “Grandmas love not hate. Racists are not welcome.”
Crowds chanted “No to violence in the name of grieving families who suffer” after the murder of three girls during a dance class in Southport on 29 July sparked widespread riots across the UK.
The protests were fuelled by misinformation circulating online about the identity of the stabbing attacker. There were false claims that the attacker was an asylum seeker, but police confirmed that the 17-year-old defendant was born in Cardiff.
Following the attack, the riots in Southport spread to other parts of the country. Riots took place in Hartlepool, Aldershot, Sunderland, Liverpool, Blackpool, Leeds, Hull and Belfast.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) says 779 people have now been arrested for rioting, of which 349 have been charged.
Special police officers tasked with prosecuting suspected online criminals and so-called influencers say they are responsible for “spreading hatred and inciting violence on a large scale”.
It came as the partner of a Conservative local councillor appeared in court accused of publishing literature inciting racial hatred.
Lucy Connolly, 44, was refused bail after allegedly posting on … If that makes me a racist then so be it.
Other rioters have also been charged In Hartlepool and Middlesborough, where £19,000 worth of e-cigarettes were stolen from Liverpool last week, a 16-year-old boy has been charged with several offences after being shot during far-right riots.
The justice minister said on Saturday that the impact of days of right-wing extremist protests will “last for months and years” on the criminal justice system.
Shabana Mahmood said the riots had set back the new Labour government’s efforts to reduce the backlog of cases and that more challengers were expected to be convicted in the coming days, putting further pressure on a beleaguered justice system.
Ms Mahmood argued the Ministry of Justice was rising to the challenge of “swiftly prosecuting these thugs and hooligans”, including by providing more than 500 prisons to ensure the courts had room to reserve for those they detain.
