Police are urgently meeting with community leaders ahead of another day of potential violence by far-right thugs across Britain.
Forces have drafted in nearly 6,000 public order officers after an online hit-list emerged claiming that masked rioters are planning to target immigration centres, refugee shelters and lawyers’ homes.
Leaked messages from what appear to be far-right Telegram channels show yobs threatening the lives of anti-racism campaigners, using sick slurs and drawing up a list of up to 38 targets that could be hit today.
More than 400 people have been arrested since the riots broke out in the wake of misinformation following the Southport stabbings last week, with over 100 charged and some being investigated under anti-terror legislation.
Fearful communities have been meeting with police ahead of the fresh wave of chaos tonight, urgently seeking reassurance with some businesses and charities even shutting up shop to protect themselves.
A masked rioter runs in front of a bonfire in the middle of the road in Rotherham on Sunday
A police dog bits a masked protester in Plymouth during clashes on Monday
Towns and cities across England – from Aldershot to Wigan – have been named as targets for demonstrations, with organisers saying ‘they won’t stop coming until you tell them…’
One vile message – posted to the group’s 15,000 members – said: ‘The n*****s will try to abuse the unrest to steal. It’s in their blood to do so’
Another called for the death of Nick Lowles, the founder of anti-extremism charity Hope Not Hate.Mr Lowles has responded to the threats, calling the man involved ‘serious and dangerous’
Another told would-be rioters to wear masks, hoodies and leave their phones at home underneath a photo of a young man in a balaclava and the tagline ‘white n radical’
In Bristol, which is on the list of potential targets, one lawyer said he had not been this fearful since the heyday of the BNP.
Aziz Deen told BBC Breakfast this morning: ‘I’ve been advised to work from home because my office is right where the protests begin, I feel threatened and I haven’t felt fear like this since the BNP were in full force.
‘Solicitors, especially those focusing on asylum and immigration should not be targeted in anyway. Policy is not in their hands, policy is in the hands of politicians.
‘To go after the people who represent asylum seekers and lawful migrants who come here on work sponsorship and the like, to attack them and make them feel threatened is disgraceful.’
Last night police in the city met with theBristol Muslim Strategic Leadership Group (BMSLG) to reassure the community that there will be no threat to mosques and their livelihoods by rioters
Adeela Shafi, of BMSLG, said: ‘People are feeling scared, intimidated, worried and are not sure where this is going.’
She added: ‘It’s the worst it’s been for a long time, because of course we’ve now got social media you’re having messages flying around left right and centre.
‘[There’s] a lot of uncertainty and anxiety, fretfulness about what should I do – should I close my business, should I keep my kids at home?
‘Trying to reassure these communities that the police and the authorities are doing their best to keep us safe and for people to be able to go about their usual business.
‘At the end of the day we live in a democracy and people should be able to protest, however the disorder we’ve seen is the frightful thing.’
The threat of violence has seen some business and charities close their doors though in a bid to keep themselves safe.
In the north east of England one refugee charity, which has not been named, said its volunteers had been racially abused in public, while another said people who used its service were ‘terrified’, the BBC reported.
Nearly 6,000 public order officers have now been mobilised to respond to riots over this week, police sources have told the BBC. Pictured:Police officers clash with protesters during the ‘Enough is Enough’ protest in Whitehall, London
A riot police officer is injured during the clashes with far-right protester outside Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham
It comes as the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment continues to swirl around on certain online sites, with one group chat on Telegram listing potential targets for today.
Towns and cities across England – from Aldershot to Wigan – were named as places for demonstrations, with organisers saying ‘they won’t stop coming until you tell them…’.
One message – posted to the group’s 15,000 members – said: ‘The n*****s will try to abuse the unrest to steal. It’s in their blood to doo so.’
Another called for the death of Nick Lowles, the founder of anti-extremism charity Hope Not Hate. The horrific call-out said: ‘If anyone wants to go down in a blaze of glory, take this man with you.
‘Death to Nick Lowles. Any man who takes his life will be a hero to the cause.’ One extremely disturbing reply read: ‘How can I do it I’m game.’
Mr Lowles has responded to the threats, calling the man involved ‘serious and dangerous’.
And a further post told would-be rioters to wear masks, hoodies and leave their phones at home, underneath a photo of a young man in a balaclava and the tagline ‘white n radical’.
Nearly 6,000 public order officers have now been mobilised to respond to riots over this week, police sources have told the BBC.
Riot police officers push back anti-migration protesters outside the Holiday Inn Express Hotel which is housing asylum seekers
Police officers face protesters outside the Liver Building in Liverpool on August 3, 2024 during the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration
Police officers with people attending the ‘Enough is Enough’ protest in Whitehall, London
They have said that the situation is ‘manageable’ – adding that they hope Britain is now ‘through the worst’ of the chaos, although they are ready if it escalates again.
Violent riots have already exploded across several cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Plymouth and Birmingham following the Southport knife rampage which claimed the lives of three young girls and left many others injured.
False speculation online that the teenage suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a boat has fuelled the unrest which started outside a mosque in Southport and has since spread across the UK.
The misinformation is believed to have originated from a Russian-linked fake news website.
Right-wing groups have organised dozens of protests from Liverpool to Hulland Middlesbrough to Plymouth – with many filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric. Riots have seen hotels housing migrants set on fire and police attacked with bricks or glass bottles.
More than 400 people have now been arrested and Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has said the thugs could face terrorism charges as the legal system fights to bring offenders to justice.
The CPS chief hit out at those who had used the internet for the ‘purposes of incitement and planning’, telling the BBC: ‘If you’re engaged in that activity, then you can be prosecuted for the substantive offence that you have caused (due) to what you’ve been doing using the internet.’
And in a warning to those acting outside the UK, Mr Parkinson said: ‘Some people are abroad. That doesn’t mean they’re safe.
Anti-migration protesters attempt to enter the Holiday Inn Express Hotel which is housing asylum seekers on August 4
As many as 38 areas including immigration centres and lawyers’ homes have made up a ‘target list’ created by far-right mobs
Mounted police move in as violence breaks out in Manchester on Saturday, August 3
Riot police are confronted by Far-right activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02
Police officers kettle protestors during the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration on Whitehall, outside the entrance to 10 Downing Street in central London
‘We have liaison prosecutors spread around the globe who’ve got local links with the local judiciary and law enforcement, but also the police are also stationed abroad.’
In measures reminiscent of the 2011 London riots, magistrates courts are operating round the clock to process rioters and releasing mugshots of some suspects after they have been charged in an effort to name and shame them.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who was himself Director of Public Prosecutions between 2008 and 2013 – said the criminal justice system has shown a ‘robust and swift response’ in the face of ongoing unrest.
A supposed ‘target list’ of 38 areas where further riots are planned for Wednesday was yesterday leaked on social media. A police source told The Mirror it was treating the list as a ‘credible threat’.
‘It’s being watched closely and we are ready to respond,’ they said. ‘We have got thousands of extra officers and where there’s credible, specific intelligence, officers will be put in place and will be ready to respond immediately.’
They added: ‘Wednesday is going to be a busy day. We are assessing what is credible and what isn’t but we have a lot more resources stood-up now than we did at the weekend.
‘Some is planned but also a lot is sporadic in terms of local people seeing stuff online and turning up out of the blue. It’s quite a nuanced picture.’
A message on encrypted platform Telegram shows that 38 towns and cities could be braced for more violence.
Serious violence and rioting by far-right protesters continues in side streets into the evening
A member of the community offers snacks to police officers on the front line in Middlesbrough
Residents offer food and snacks to police on the front line in Middlesbrough this evening
Protesters try to cram into the migrant hotel through a damaged fire exit in Rotherham
A man looks out of The Holiday Inn hotel in Rotherham as counter demonstrators stand outside with signs saying ‘refugees welcome’
A bin on fire outside the Holiday Inn Migrant hotel in Rotherham
Five of the organisations on the list told the Financial Times they were planning to shut tomorrow and urged employees to work from home.
The list includes locations such as Aldershot, Canterbury, Bedford, Birmingham and Derby.
The list, which was reposted on social media, came with a threatening caption above it which reads: ‘THEY WON’T STOP COMING UNTIL YOU TELL THEM…
‘NO MORE IMMIGRATION. 8PM. MASK UP.’
It added: ‘SPREAD THIS AS FAR AND WIDE AS YOU CAN.’
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said anyone wearing a mask to a riot would be prosecuted.
‘It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re protesting — if you turn up in a mask, with a weapon, intent on causing disorder, you will face the full force of the law,’ she wrote on X.
Counter-terror officers and detectives from regional crime units are also involved in targeting far right ringleaders of the chaos and violence which has swept Britain.
Today – in a show of hope – locals turned out to help chase off youths who had been targeting a local store
As many as thirty stood outside the shop in a show of unity as the threat of far-right action continued in the Northern Irish city
Police officers protect themselves from bricks thrown by protesters during the ‘Enough is Enough’outside the Liver Building in Liverpool on August 3
Riot police are confronted by Far-right activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02
Police in riot gear react to a hostile crowd as Far-right activists hold an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to take ‘all necessary action’ to end the far-right riots.
The Prime Minister told Cabinet today that ‘people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities, and we will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end’.
Among the stories of Brits being targeted by far-right thugs was the owner of a Middle Easter supermarket in Belfast, whose shop was ‘singled out’ by young yobs, as a boy and the shop behind him was pelted with eggs.
It allegedly came after the youths tried to steal from the store but were challenged by staff, as the Police Service of Norther Ireland are investigating it as a hate crime.
It came after another supermarket, owned by a Syrian man, was torched after rioters targeted it twice.
OwnerAli Moustafa Wartty said that police had confirmed his had been the only shop targeted, in incidents that date back to the start of the year.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: ‘They have been singling us out.
‘Police said they cannot do anything – it’s very difficult for me, I have a number of businesses in Belfast and I will have to move them.
‘I’m very disappointed in Belfast.’
But today – in a show of hope – locals turned out to help chase off the youths and support the local store.
As many as thirty stood outside the shop in a show of unity as the threat of far-right action continued in the Northern Irish city.
