British police yesterday prepared for new racist attacks on Muslims and immigration centers, and the government promised swift action to punish anyone who incites riots.
Britain has been hit by an escalation of violence that erupted early last week after the killing of three girls in a knife attack in Southampton, sparking a wave of hoax online posts misidentifying the suspected killer as an Islamist militant.
Reports that far-right groups would attack specialist immigration law firms and migrant support centers forced many to close yesterday, with some family doctors in protest-hit areas saying they would close early to protect staff.
Anti-racist and anti-fascist groups organized counter-protests across the country.
Prime Minister Kir Starmer, a former prosecutor who is facing his first crisis since winning the July 4 election, threatened those involved in the riots with long prison terms.
In the first sentencing since the riots began, a 58-year-old man received three years in prison for violent disorder, while the other two, aged 14 and 29, were sentenced to 20 and 30 months, respectively, Reuters reported.
“We are taking quick action. If you cause violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law," Starmer said.
Riots broke out when groups of several hundred rioters clashed with police and smashed the windows of hotels housing asylum seekers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, shouting "get them out" and "stop the boats" - referring to those who they come to Britain in small boats without a permit.
The "stop the boats" chant heard during the far-right riots was also a slogan of the Conservative Party before it lost power after 14 years.
They also threw stones at mosques. Muslim organizations said it was worrying for their community and issued security advisories to mosques and other Islamic institutions.
"The shocking scenes have frightened many Muslims and ethnic minority communities," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said.
Reuters reminds that migration to Britain was the main factor in the country's 2016 vote to leave the European Union, and it was the main topic of last month's elections, where Nigel Farage's Reform Party won about four million votes calling for stricter border controls.
Britain saw record levels of net migration in 2022, with figures boosted by the arrival of people from Ukraine and Hong Kong, as well as through work and student visas. Net legal migration in 2023 was around 685.000, while 29.000 people arrived in small dinghies on the English coast without permission, many of them fleeing war zones.
The "stop the boats" chant heard during the far-right riots was also the slogan of the Conservative Party before it lost power in an election after 14 years.
Passing by the shuttered windows of the Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau in north-east London, which has been targeted, Klarisa Ružej, a 40-year-old black woman who lives in the area, said she felt unsafe and feared she might be attacked because of the color of her skin. .
"What they don't understand is that we were brought here to build this country... and then we just happened to have our roots here," she told Reuters. "It breaks my heart... and makes me sad".
The government has formed a so-called "standing army" of 6.000 specialist police to respond to any outbreak of violence, and has said it will have a sufficient presence to deal with any unrest.
London's police chief, Mark Rowley, said that their plans are based on a list of possible targets, but that they will also be prepared for other possibilities.
"It is completely unacceptable, regardless of your political views, to intimidate any sector of legal activity, and we will not allow the asylum and immigration system to be intimidated."
Steven Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said that even children as young as 11 have taken part in violent riots and that "they can have lifelong consequences for their actions".
The Council of National Police Chiefs said more than 120 people had been charged and 428 arrested in connection with the riots.
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