Riots and unrest have broken out in a number of cities and towns across England after three young girls were murdered in a multiple stabbing at a Taylor Swift-inspired holiday club in Southport on Monday.
Demonstrators have clashed with police in the past 48 hours after violent disorder in the Merseyside town on Tuesday night. Some of the rioters have been heard shouting anti-immigration and Islamophobic slogans.
Flashpoints have broken out in the following places since Monday:
Southport
Hundreds of rioters descended on the grieving seaside town on Tuesday night, barely 36 hours after a knifeman murdered three girls – Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven – and injured eight other children and two adults at the Hart Space dance and yoga studio on Monday afternoon.
The riots are believed to have been encouraged by disinformation spread online about the identity and motives of the suspect, a 17-year-old boy from a nearby village, who was named on Thursday morning as Axel Rudakubana.
The teenager, who was born in Cardiff, appeared in court on Thursday charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon. Judge Andrew Menary KC said the unrest in parts of the country after the attack was one reason why it was in the public interest for his name to be released.
More than 50 police officers were injured in the riots, which targeted a mosque just a short walk from the scene of Monday’s atrocity.
Hundreds of people took part in the disorder, which lasted for several hours, setting fire to a police van, and damaging cars, homes and businesses.
Five people have so far been arrested by Merseyside police, who said the disorder was organised by sympathisers of the far-right English Defence League, although the group has not had a regular active role in protests for years.
London
More than 100 demonstrators were arrested after clashes with officers in Whitehall on Wednesday night.
During the protest, staged under the title of Enough is Enough, fireworks and flares were let off near a statue of Winston Churchill and towards the gates of Downing Street.
The angry scenes also included loud chants of “We want our country back” and “Oh Tommy Robinson,” referring to the rightwing activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Dame Lynne Owens, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, condemned the “hateful behaviour” towards officers.
Hartlepool
A police car was set alight and a mosque came under attack as the unrest spread to Hartlepool, in the north-east of England, on Wednesday night.
Businesses had their windows smashed and police were pelted with eggs, bottles and bricks as a protest that started peacefully turned violent.
One witness, Claire Dickson, 39, said people shouted the name of Tommy Robinson and “Save our children”. She said a mosque was targeted as police tried to keep protesters away, adding that she was petrified.
Manchester
Demonstrators turned out in large numbers outside a Holiday Inn hotel that was being used to house asylum seekers in Manchester on Wednesday night.
About 40 people, which the paper reported included children and men wearing balaclavas, gathered outside the premises in what the Manchester Evening News said “appeared to be a stand against asylum seekers currently being housed in the hotel”.
Two men were arrested after police were assaulted. Crowds were reported to have hurled bottles, rocks and bricks at officers lining the streets and armed in riot gear.
Aldershot
People holding placards with slogans such as “no apartments for illegals” protested outside a hotel in Aldershot, Hampshire, on Wednesday night.
The local MP, Alex Baker, said the demonstration near the Potters International hotel had descended into “intimidating behaviour”. Protesters held signs saying: “Deport them, don’t support them.”
Baker shared a post on social media that said: “This incident was exacerbated by people from outside our community who came here determined to cause unrest.”
Hampshire police said: “There were a smaller minority of individuals who became involved in aggressive behaviour and disorder. Police attended and the group dispersed a short while later.”
