Britain saw violent protests over the weekend in multiple cities across the country. At least ten police officers are injured, many others have fractures or broken bones after protests took a violent turn in Rotherham in northern England.
It started off with slogans outside a hotel housing asylum seekers but things escalated soon after. Among the slogans were loud voices shouting ‘Get them out’, some even shouting more derogatory slogans and using profanity against the police.
Many protesters had their faces with balaclavas and masks. They resorted to rioting, throwing projectiles towards the hotel, breaking windows, starting fires and attacking the police.
The crowd swelled to 700 people, one officer was knocked unconscious. ” This is not a protest,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer in his address to the nation.”It is organised, violent thuggery and it has no place on our streets or online.”
But Rotherham wasn’t an isolated incident. There were protests across different cities in the UK over the weekend with anti-immigrant groups, anti-Muslim groups clashing with the police over Saturday and Sunday.
The trigger for these latest protests is the murder of three young girls in northwest England on July 29. Soon after the murders, rumours spread on social media that the suspect in the attack was a radical Muslim migrant. That was the initial spark that led to protests. Police have said the suspect in custody was born in the UK.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, calling it ‘far-right thuggery’ and promised swift action. “I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we’ve seen this weekend. Be in no doubt. Those that have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law,” promised Starmer. “If you target people because of the colour of their skin or their faith. Then that is far right and I’m prepared to say so.”
The latest violence brought back memories of 2011, when thousands took to the streets when the police shot dead a black man.
Keir Starmer was then the U.K.’s chief prosecutor. In places like Hull, the community came together to clean up after the rioting…in an attempt to send across a message of unity in the face of anti-immigrant violence.
Josh Hamlett, who came to help clean up after the rioters, told the BBC, “(I’m) embarrassed, disgusted and wanted to take some action. I wanted to do something. As you can see, I’ve got a little boy. It’s the world I want him to grow up in. So yeah, just come out, make a positive change, show people that this Hull, not the crap you saw last night. ” Another Hull resident, Nadine Balmer, “And I think it was really important to show the people of Spring Bank, our black and Asian community, that, you know, if people are going to bring 200 people out to incite hate, we’re going to bring 20,000 out to incite good. ”
In all, 150 people have been arrested across the country in these protests.
