Anti-racist protests quell violent marches in England

The protests against racism and violence neutralised the risk of an escalation of the riots instigated by ultra-nationalist radicals for more than a week in much of England on Wednesday night. After far-right platforms had called for hundreds of demonstrations online, mainly in front of centres for the care of migrants, the dominant tone was protests in defence of coexistence and the reinforced police deployment hardly recorded any incidents.

More than 6,000 police officers – 1,300 in London alone – including some 2,000 riot police, were mobilised in response to the alarm about potential disturbances such as those recorded since Tuesday of last week, after the multiple stabbings in the town of Southport (northwest of England), in which three girls aged between six and nine had died the day before. Despite the possibility of clashes and the police recommendation to stay at home, thousands of Britons took to the streets in different parts of the country to condemn the violence and show their support for the migrant community, with banners that read “united against racism” or “refugees welcome”, Palestinian flags and chanting such as “the streets are ours” or “Nazis out”.

The riots that have taken place in cities such as London, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Bristol in the past few days have so far resulted in more than 420 arrests and a hundred police officers injured. But on Wednesday night, demonstrations against the extremist ideas that fuel these disturbances took place where the radical protests were supposed to be taking place, in many cases forming a human shield in front of immigration centres.

In most locations, protection proved unnecessary, as right-wing extremists often failed to turn up. And in the few places where ultras did turn up, such as Brighton or Southampton, they were vastly outnumbered by anti-violence activists. The number of arrests was therefore marginal, with only a handful of arrests in Northampton and Blackpool.

For the first time since the crisis began, the Labour government, which has been in power for less than five weeks, is seeing signs of a decline in violence, after two consecutive days in which there have been hardly any incidents. It had hoped that the palpable reinforcement of the police force, the speedy justice system, with sentences that have already begun to circulate, and the dissemination of the identity of those who participated in the disturbances would act as a deterrent. The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has repeatedly warned that the promoters will face “the full weight of the law” and the first convictions have already been made public, including three-year sentences for punching an officer, or for public disorder in a mosque.

Most of those arrested have criminal records, according to Metropolitan Police Chief Mark Rowley, who said up to 70% of them had criminal records. In his first reaction to Wednesday’s counter-protests, the head of the country’s largest police force called it a “very successful night” and attributed the lack of violence to the significant increase in officers on the streets and a “show of unity by the communities” who stood up against the radicals.

Optimism is cautious for now. Home Secretary Diana Johnson gave a “cautious welcome” to Wednesday’s scenes in a round of appearances in British media, but confirmed that security forces have evidence that protests are being planned for the coming days.

The most immediate objective now is to speed up the indictment and sentencing of those who have participated in the riots, but the Executive has an added problem on the internet, which is fuelled by misinformation and the glorification of violence. This week, it held a meeting with some of the technology giants to urge them to act in the face of the incendiary content that has circulated on the networks, but it lacks the necessary mechanisms to force the platforms to react.

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