Anti-racism protests take place across England after violent unrest | BBC News
Thousands of counter-protesters took to the streets of England last night after a week of violent unrest across the country.
Anti-racism protesters gathered in Liverpool, London, Bristol and Newcastle to show support for refugees and immigrants.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, who sent thousands of officers to spots around the north of England yesterday, says he's "pleased" with how it went.
He said: “It went off very peacefully last night. A couple of locations we had some local criminals turn out and try and create a bit of anti-social behaviour and we arrested a few of them."
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said earlier today there's "no excuse for thuggery", adding that police and courts "stand ready" to deal with those involved in riots.
Disorder erupted last week after the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport - with unrest fuelled by misinformation online.
Anti-racism protesters gathered in Liverpool, London, Bristol and Newcastle to show support for refugees and immigrants.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, who sent thousands of officers to spots around the north of England yesterday, says he's "pleased" with how it went.
He said: “It went off very peacefully last night. A couple of locations we had some local criminals turn out and try and create a bit of anti-social behaviour and we arrested a few of them."
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said earlier today there's "no excuse for thuggery", adding that police and courts "stand ready" to deal with those involved in riots.
Disorder erupted last week after the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport - with unrest fuelled by misinformation online.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thousands of people have taken to the streets of towns and cities across England in counter
00:05demonstrations against a wave of riots by anti-immigration protesters.
00:10More than 6,000 police officers were mobilised on Wednesday evening from Newcastle to Birmingham,
00:16Liverpool to Brighton, Sheffield to London.
00:19Apart from some isolated incidents in Aldershot and Chatham, the marches have been largely peaceful.
00:25The unrest came after misinformation was spread online that the suspect in a fatal
00:34stabbing of three girls in Southport just over a week ago was a Muslim asylum seeker.
00:40The first prison sentences for violent disorder have been handed down to rioters involved.
00:45The men, all from Liverpool, have been jailed for between 20 months and three years.
00:51Inquests into the deaths of the three girls have been formally opened and adjourned until
00:56the end of criminal proceedings, the senior coroner giving her condolences to the families
01:01and friends of the girls.
01:04With more on the counter-protests, here's our correspondent Jo Inwood reporting from Bristol.
01:11The city had been braced for trouble.
01:14So this part of Bristol is where a couple of immigration lawyers are based,
01:16whose addresses have been leaked online.
01:19And there was a real fear there could be a far-right process taking place here today.
01:24But we've been here the last couple of hours and there's not a sign of that.
01:27Instead, something very different has happened.
01:33Thousands of anti-racism protesters, trade unionists,
01:37members of the local black and Asian community, students, took over the streets
01:42in what was broadly a good-natured evening, but one that sent a message.
01:46I feel ashamed for our country right now.
01:49It's just we're not representing ourselves in any sense of a manner that's admirable at all.
01:56You can see a lot of places are boarded up.
01:59So there's been a lot of fear about what could happen.
02:03And it just felt really important that we were here to protect our community.
02:09It was a picture repeated across the country.
02:12Walthamstow in London saw vast crowds,
02:15gathered, as in Bristol, to oppose the far-right.
02:19While there were colourful scenes in West London.
02:27In Sheffield, police had prepared for trouble, but none came.
02:32In Croydon, although there were a few arrests, things were generally peaceful.
02:38While a march between two mosques in Accrington was greeted by people drinking at the pub.
02:44And this was the scene in Newcastle.
02:46Of course, protect our mosques, because we believe this is our house and this is house of God.
02:52And I think for them to stand up and really want to go around and
02:57try to destroy our mosques is something really heinous.
03:03There were some isolated incidents.
03:05Aldershot was seemingly one of the few places the right-wing protests materialised.
03:11In Brighton, they were so outnumbered, they needed police protection.
03:18According to the man who used to oversee the police,
03:20it's not only the counter-protests that kept the far-right off the streets,
03:25but also swift prosecutions.
03:27The techniques and the instruments that the police have now
03:31for identifying people, even with face coverings,
03:34I won't go into detail, are very, very advanced.
03:37OK.
03:38And also, it is an offence to have a face covering,
03:42to maintain a face covering, if ordered, to take it off by a police officer.
03:46So I think that the community has come together,
03:51and I think it's an extremely positive step.
03:55Back in Bristol, and while there was a heavy police presence all evening,
04:00by 10pm, there had only been one arrest.
04:05So this is Castle Park in Bristol, and it's here on Saturday
04:07that there were running battles between the far-right and anti-fascist protesters,
04:12and there had been real fears that those scenes could be replicated tonight.
04:15But as you can see, nothing has materialised,
04:17and it seems across the country that picture has been repeated.
04:21And both government and the protesters on the street tonight
04:24will be hoping that this could be a turning point.
04:27Jo Inwood, BBC News in Bristol.