UK riots live news: Thousands of police on standby across country
Greater Manchester Police urging community to remain calm
The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) force has released a statement ahead of the planned far-right protests, urging the community to remain calm and go about “everyday life”.
“GMP continues to monitor the intelligence to ensure we can respond effectively to any incidents of disorder. And, if we believe there needs to be specific information about anything emerging we will tell people and offer advice,” the statement read.
“We are heavily resourced, and we have specialist officers and staff who are working around the clock to tackle these issues and ensure our communities are supported.”
GMP added that it contacted community leaders and elected officials about all planned protests of which police are aware.
“Our message is clear: there is no place for hate in Greater Manchester. If you come here to willingly participate in disorder and crime, we will be at your door, ensuring you answer for your crimes,” the police said.
Far-right expected in Bolton after weekend riots
I’ve been speaking to people from local cafes, shops and restaurants – they say they will be closing their doors.
They don’t want to see the kind of violence seen in Bolton on Sunday – many businesses have been affected.
They did tell me that Bolton, just north of Manchester, is a very diverse and close-knit community. And they say that many of these violent rioters who came here were from outside the town. The locals say that these rioters were met by twice as many people from the community itself.
On Sunday, the violent escalation happened just outside of the town hall. Today, the plans are for the far-right groups to congregate outside an immigration solicitors office, so it just goes to show the ideology of these groups – they don’t want immigration to the UK.
Mayor of London calls on communities to ‘stand united’
London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on residents to check in on their “Black, Brown and minority friends, family, neighbours and colleagues” in light of the violent protests.
On X last night, Khan wrote that communities were facing the threat of “hatred – including violence – fuelled by insidious racism, prejudice, and Islamophobia.”
“It’s the legacy of decades of dog whistles, including from some irresponsible politicians. We all bear not just the responsibility but also the duty to stand up to hate.
“To be vocal. To be allies to those who are being unjustly targeted – online and off. To our Black, Brown and minority communities: NEVER forget that you are loved and wanted in London,” he wrote.
What’s behind the far-right protests?
The far-right riots erupted after three girls, aged between six and nine, were killed during a stabbing attack in Southport on July 29.
During the attack, eight other children and two adults were hurt.
At the time, local Merseyside police announced that a 17-year-old male was arrested as a suspect in the attack, and no other information was given due to UK laws making it an offence to identify a suspect who is a minor until legal proceedings begin.
But in the absence of information, false information spread online that the suspect was a Muslim immigrant who had come into the country via small boats from across the English Channel.
While the suspect was later named Axel Rudakubana, born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff and not Muslim, anti-immigration protesters used the false information to link up with far-right Islamophobic groups.
Violent anti-Muslim protests took place in Southport the following day, and an attempt to attack the town’s mosque.
Since then, more than 20 places across the UK, from Sunderland in northeast England and Manchester in the northwest to Plymouth in the southwest and Belfast in Northern Ireland, have experienced violent far-right riots.
