United Kingdom

Counter-protesters have turned out in UK cities amid warnings of at least 100 far-right marches being planned for Wednesday night.

People were on the streets of towns and cities including Bristol, London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Brighton.

More than 6,000 specialist police had been mobilised amid fears of a repeat of the violence seen around the country over the past week.

Some businesses closed early and others chose to board up windows ahead of an anticipated 8pm start time.

Solicitors and other agencies who work with asylum seekers had been warned they could be targeted.

But as the night progressed it appeared the mass far-right protests had failed to materialise, with counter-demonstrators instead taking the initiative.

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The Stand Up To Racism group tweeted photos of the counter-protests alongside the words "this is what a mass movement looks like".

archived 8 Aug 2024 01:21:23 UTC.
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Malaysia has become the first country to issue a safety warning to its citizens about travel to the UK due to anti-immigration protests and riots.

The south-east Asian country's ministry of foreign affairs published an alert on Sunday advising Malaysians living in or visiting the UK to "stay away" from protest areas and "remain vigilant".

Thugs threw rocks at Filipino NHS nurses on their way to work in a hospital as emergency cover during riots.

The workers were reportedly 'terrified' by the attack on their taxis after the vehicles were the target of yobs in Sunderland. They then set light to a police station following a planned protest linked to the Southport knife attack.

A source told the Mirror: "They were in two different taxis and had been called in because of the trouble as emergency cover. They managed to get through but they were obviously fearful about what might happen to them."

"There has been disorder and rioting at a number of other towns and cities across the UK – with building and vehicles set on fire on a night of rioting in Sunderland last night, while there have also been disturbances in Manchester, Hartlepool, London and Aldershot with anti-Islam and anti-immigrations chants shouted, along with support for far right activist Steven Yaxley-Lennon, who uses the name Tommy Robinson.

The Doncaster “vigil” was planned for 2pm. But the protest failed to materialise, with one demonstrator filming an empty square, with a couple of police vans flanking the square..."

A police station was set on fire in Sunderland on Friday as officers tried to contain several hundred protesters on another night of disorder.

Video footage on social media showed flames coming from Sunderland Central police station.

Nick Lowles, from the organisation Hope Not Hate, posted a photo of the blaze on X and wrote: “A police station has been set alight in Sunderland tonight. A far right and racist protest has culminated in this. Shame on all those who continue to excuse these protests.”

The crowd, some of whom wore balaclavas, also threw beer barrels and stones at police who came under a sustained attack outside a mosque on St Mark’s Road.

An overturned car was set on fire and rioters set off fire extinguishers against officers. Northumbria police advised members of the public to avoid Sunderland city centre due to the “ongoing disorder”.

The protest, promoted by far-right activists on social media, began at the newly refurbished Keel Square. Social media footage showed young men throwing stones at the police and shouting “whose streets, our streets” as well as Islamophobic chants.