Far-right riots continue across UK as police scramble to contain disorder

Violent clashes between far-right protesters and police in towns and cities across the UK have continued, a week after being sparked by misinformation spread online.

Far-right and anti-immigration groups spread rumors via social media around the identity of a suspect in the murders of three young girls who were killed in Southport, saying the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived in England after crossing the Channel in a small boat.

‌This rumor played into existing tensions around immigration in some cities and towns.

In Rotherham, a protest focused on a Holiday Inn on the outskirts of the city, which had housed asylum seekers for several years. 

Located in the middle of a residential area, people living locally told us there had been several peaceful protests over the years at the site. 

They said the local MP for the area, John Healey, who is now the UK's new Defense Secretary, had also petitioned the former Conservative government to process the claims more quickly but this had not been successful.

‌Several people we spoke to, who didn't want to be named, said they had watched the riot at the hotel unfold live on social media apps like TikTok and X and were surprised at how quickly it had turned violent.

‌Contributing to the noise on social media, Elon Musk waded into the debate. In response to a tweet about the riots, the owner of social media platform X said civil war in the UK is 'inevitable'. An official spokesperson for the Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said there was no justification for his remark.

‌There are fears in the role social media is playing in spreading further violence. A widely disseminated WhatsApp message has named several locations across the UK for action to take place on Wednesday, including immigration law offices and refugee charities.

The Prime Minister has promised the full force of the law will come down on any protesters encouraging violence, particularly against asylum seekers and the UK's Muslim population.

‌Others say rioters need to be considered under terrorism legislation, including the former anti-terror police chief, Neil Basu. Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, he said the rioters in Rotherham should be considered for life sentences under anti-terror laws rather than shorter ones for violent disorder.

Starmer has said the full force of the law will be brought down on anyone participating in the riots, whether on or offline. For the new government, a huge policing challenge in its first few weeks in office doesn't seem to have an immediate end in sight.

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