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Thousands of extra police officers have been mobilized across the country, but as of Wednesday evening, there were no signs that large far-right crowds had gathered.
Aug. 7, 2024Updated 7:37 p.m. ET
Thousands of police officers fanned out across Britain on Wednesday amid fears that protests planned by far-right groups would descend into fresh violence after days of anti-immigrant riots shocked the country. But by late evening, large anti-immigration protests had not materialized and only a handful of arrests had been made.
Instead, thousands of antiracism protesters gathered in cities across the country, including Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool and London. Some of those demonstrations were close to places that had been identified as potential targets for rioters. And as the summer evening that many had feared could turn violent made way for the night, many expressed relief that the worries of wide-scale violence had not been realized.
More than a dozen towns and cities across Britain experienced violent unrest over the past week, fueled in part by far-right agitators and an online disinformation campaign intent on creating disorder after a deadly knife attack on a children’s dance class in northwestern England. Much of the misinformation after the attack in Southport claimed that the teenage suspect — who was born in Britain — was an asylum seeker.
The BBC has reported that the suspect’s parents were from Rwanda. The police have not disclosed a motive for the stabbing attack. Britain has very tight restrictions on what can be reported once a case is underway.
Last week, and over the weekend, rioters clashed with the police, set cars on fire and targeted mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Far-right groups had called for further protests on Wednesday night, with the BBC reporting that the police were monitoring at least 30 locations, including London.
With tensions running high, some 6,000 specialist public-order police officers were mobilized nationwide to respond to any disorder. The authorities in several cities and towns stepped up patrols and gave the police extended powers to arrest those they believed were intent on causing unrest, even before any riots started.
