IRIA News

The United Kingdom is witnessing an unprecedented wave of violent riots targeting hotels housing asylum seekers, as far-right agitators escalate attacks amidst growing tensions and xenophobia.

The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Tamworth, northern England, was set alight, and rioters gathered near a similar hotel in Rotherham. These incidents, which occurred largely on the weekend, are part of a broader pattern of unrest that has gripped multiple towns and cities across the country.

Since the rioting started, nearly 400 people have been arrested. Clashes between rioters and police continue to take place across the country including Belfast, and Darlington in northeast England, as well as Plymouth in the south. Devon and Cornwall police said they had arrested several people in Plymouth after “levels of violence across the city” in the evening that left several officers and some members of the public injured. Two people were taken to hospital.

Violent escalations after false information

The violence initially erupted last week, after the fatal stabbing during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop in Southport. About two dozen children were attending the summer vacation workshop on July 30, 2024, when an attacker armed with a knife burst in and started to stab the children. 9-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and 6-year-old Bebe King died in the attack while ten other people were injured.

The suspect was identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana. Rudakubana was born in Wales to Christian parents with Rwandan heritage, but false information circulating on social media erroneously claimed he was a Muslim immigrant. This misinformation ignited a surge of hatred and violence against immigrant communities, especially Muslims, resulting in violent riots and attacks on Muslim immigrant communities.

The ongoing violence has left ethnic minority and migrant communities in fear. South Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield assured the public that those responsible for the violence would be held accountable. “If you were there, we will find you and you will be held accountable for yesterday’s violence,” she declared at a recent news conference.

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott expressed deep concern over the scale of the riots, calling for a recall of Parliament. “Nationwide anti-immigrant riots on a scale never seen before. Threatening life, property, and our police force. We need to recall Parliament,” Abbott posted on social media.

Key figures

The leading figure among the agitators is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, commonly known as Tommy Robinson, a notorious far-right activist, and co-founder of the English Defense League (EDL). Robinson, currently posting inflammatory rants from Cyprus, has a substantial following on social media, where he continues to decry Muslims, migrants, and the political establishment.

Social media influencer Andrew Tate and MP Nigel Farage have also been accused of exacerbating the situation. Farage, known for his anti-immigration stance, recently suggested that Muslims do not share British values and justified the riots as a reaction to widespread fear and discomfort.

Neil Basu, the UK’s former head of counter-terrorism policing, criticized Nigel Farage for not condemning the violence or the EDL, accusing him of fomenting discord in society.

Government response

The government’s response has been unequivocal condemnation of the violence. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned that those involved in the riots would face severe consequences. “There will be people who were thinking they were going on their summer holidays this week, and instead they will face a knock on the door from the police,” she stated in an interview with Sky News.

This is not protest, it is pure violence.

We will have a standing army of public duty officers.

We will ramp up criminal justice.

We will apply criminal law online as well as offline.

We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities. pic.twitter.com/C1SmjJjo4R

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 5, 2024

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a televised address, condemned the riots as “organized illegal thuggery” and warned those involved: “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or those whipping up this disorder online.” The Prime Minister’s strong stance came as the unrest entered its sixth day, prompting an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (Cobra).

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson emphasized that the riots, particularly incidents of looting, have nothing to do with legitimate protest. “When I saw people looting some of the shops in the city center, that’s nothing to do with genuine protest or people having different opinions about immigration,” Johnson said.

As the UK grapples with this wave of violence, the government, law enforcement, and community leaders are calling for unity and a firm stand against xenophobia and extremism. The focus is now on restoring order, holding perpetrators accountable, and addressing the deep-seated issues that have fueled this unrest.

Every community across the country will have been affected in some way by recent events.

We’re doing all we can to tackle the violence and keep you safe and a robust response is in place.

So far 378 arrests have been made – this will increase steadily in the coming days.
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/QhT0RrD1Ew

— National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) (@PoliceChiefs) August 5, 2024