Violent Protests Grip English Cities in Wake of Knife Attack at Dance Class
Violence erupted in several English cities on Saturday amid anti-immigrant protests, as crowds of far-right activists scuffled with the police and counterprotesters in the northern cities of Liverpool, Hull and Nottingham, among other locations.
Tensions have simmered in communities across Britain in the wake of a stabbing in the northern town of Southport on Monday, as misinformation over the identity of the attacker has swirled online. The knife attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class for elementary school-aged girls stunned Britain and ignited days of anti-immigrant riots in multiple cities that were incited by far-right provocateurs. Increasingly, the demonstrations have drawn counter-protests in communities across the country.
In Liverpool, a city near Southport, where Monday’s stabbing took place, police vehicles were damaged as protesters threw bricks and chanted “stop the boats” — a reference to asylum seekers who arrive in small boats in the English Channel — and antifascist groups confronted them on Saturday.
“A number of officers have been injured as they deal with serious disorder in Liverpool city center,” the Merseyside Police, the force responsible for the region, said in a statement. “This behavior, which puts the public and our officers in harm’s way, will not be tolerated. And we will be arresting those responsible.”
In Leeds, right-wing protesters scuffled with antiracist protesters, though the situation remained largely peaceful as evening neared. In Hull, three police officers were injured and four people were arrested amid disorder in the city center, said the Humberside Police, which oversees the area.
In Nottingham, counterprotesters chanted “Nazis not welcome here,” as a far-right rally erupted in a central square.
In Stoke on Trent, far-right protesters also gathered on the streets on Saturday, and the local police reported pockets of violence. Gareth Snell, a member of Parliament who represents Stoke on Trent, warned in a statement that “political extremists” were gathering in the city.
“They are here not because they are concerned about our city or the people who live here,” he said. “They are here for one thing. To spread division and sow the seeds of hate.”
In the Southport stabbing Monday, three young girls were killed and another eight adults and two children were injured when a 17-year-old who was born in Cardiff, Wales, and lived in a village near Southport, went on a rampage through the class. On Thursday, the police identified the suspect as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana. He appeared in a Liverpool court on Thursday to face three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
The day after the stabbing, and a short time after a peaceful vigil drew a large crowd of Southport residents onto the streets to honor the three young girls killed, a significantly smaller group of far-right demonstrators clashed with police officers in the town.
More than 50 police officers were injured in that outbreak of violence on Tuesday after false reports spread that the suspect in the stabbing at the dance class was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in Britain.
Disinformation and far-right agitators have been fueling the violence, experts said, and supporters of the English Defence League, an extremist anti-Islam organization, were among a large group that on Tuesday attacked a mosque, threw bricks and garbage cans at police officers and torched vehicles.
On Friday night, rioters in Sunderland attacked police and destroyed property, set cars afire and threw bottles and bricks.
Mark Hall, the chief superintendent of the Northumbria Police, which oversees the region where Sunderland is located, said the Friday night unrest left four officers injured. Ten people were arrested.
“This was not a protest,” Mr. Hall said during a Saturday news conference. “This was unforgivable violence and disorder,’
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