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Southport should have been a town in mourning after the tragic loss of three young lives in horrific circumstances – instead, a peaceful vigil on Tuesday later descended into chaos as violent riots broke out on the streets.
Hours before the moving remembrance service, Merseyside Police confirmed that a third girl had been killed in the “ferocious” knife attack at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Hart Street. Shortly after, the force named the victims as Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who were pronounced dead shortly after Monday’s rampage, while Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, died from her injuries in hospital on Tuesday.
As five more children continued to fight for their lives following the tragedy, along with two dance class teachers who bravely tried to defend their pupils, the tight-knit community of Southport gathered in the town centre at 6pm to grieve together. Hundreds of people held each other and wiped away tears as Martin Abrahams, the spiritual leader at Southport Hospital, said the crowds “show we want to stand together”.
But despite the mournful air, tensions that had been building throughout the day were palpable. Mr Abrahams was interrupted twice – once by a man shouting “we stick together”, and then by panicked calls for paramedics from the centre of the crowd, which temporarily paused the event. It later emerged that a man was arrested with a flick knife just yards away from the vigil.
There were growing fears over how many were going to turn up to a far-right protest planned to take place outside a mosque on St Luke’s Road that evening, an event police were understood to be monitoring.
Earlier that day, Sir Keir Starmer had been hurriedly whisked away after being heckled as he placed a floral tribute at the Hart Street scene. His visit to the police cordon lasted barely two minutes as some watching members of the public shouted, “How many more children? Our kids are dead and you’re leaving already?” and “get the truth out!”
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, who attended with the prime minister, was asked why the alleged attacker had not been named and if he was on a “watch list”.
Detectives continued to question a 17-year-old suspect from Wales but Merseyside Police were forced to put out a statement urging people not to speculate after false claims the boy was an asylum-seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat spread online.
Within an hour of the vigil ending, crowds of men began gathering outside The Blue Anchor pub, some holding beers and wearing masks, in front of the hundreds of floral tributes that continued to pile up outside the police cordon at the top of Hart Street.
Word came from St Luke’s Road before the demonstration’s official kick-off time at 8pm that the area near the mosque was already packed with angry protesters responding to the rallying cry of elements of the far-right on social media.
The air was charged with rage and anticipation as dusk began to descend on what had already been a highly emotional day.
Hundreds of men were already stationed directly outside the mosque and in the surrounding streets, while a number of police officers and riot vans were standing guard, amid chants of “No surrender!” and “English till I die!” from sections of the crowd.
With tensions already running high, events escalated rapidly into a riot, with violence breaking out and demonstrators clashing with police. Dozens of officers ended up suffering injuries in the disorder, leading North West Ambulance Service to declare a major incident.
Stones and bottles were launched at officers in helmets and riot gear, as police riot vans were attacked. Debris was scattered on the ground around the vans while police used their shields to deflect missiles thrown from the crowds.
A crowd of men, many wearing masks and hoodies, were in a running battle with officers outside the mosque as more police arrived. Officers walked through crowds with police dogs as others with shields and batons were in a stand-off with protesters.
Firecrackers and flares went off as multiple police sirens sounded, and a police helicopter hovered over the area. Shocked local residents were out on the streets, while roads were jammed with traffic, and numerous police cars and vans, blue lights flashing, were patrolling local streets.
Riot police then charged the crowds outside the mosque as a police van was set on fire, sending black smoke into the air.
The force issued an update at around 9pm, disclosing that an officer had suffered a suspected broken nose in the disturbance and multiple police vehicles had been damaged and set alight – with the protesters believed to be supporters of the English Defence League (EDL).
The disorder continued into the night, with wheelie bins set alight and engulfed in flames in the streets, and shops, restaurants and hotels under lockdown amid the chaos. The sounds of sirens and the circulating police helicopter echoed around Southport well after midnight as I walked through the seaside town’s deserted streets.
The prime minister was among those who took to social media to condemn the violence, writing on X/Twitter just before midnight that the rioters had hijacked a vigil for victims and vowed they would “feel the full force of the law”.
After the chaos, the message from the people of Southport was clear; the town is mourning multiple tragedies and does not want the kind of trouble the rioters brought with them.
Helping with the clean-up operation on Wednesday, Norman Wallis, chief executive of Southport Pleasureland said: “It’s horrendous what those hooligans have done. It was like a war scene. People from out of town just causing absolute mayhem.
“People in hoods climbing up lampposts, throwing bricks, they set a police car on fire. But none of those people were the people of Southport. The people of Southport are the ones here cleaning the mess up.”
