More than
100 arrested in London as violence flares after Southport stabbings
Hartlepool
and Manchester among latest scenes of violent disorder triggered by online
disinformation about accused
Mark Brown
and agency
Thu 1 Aug
2024 07.35 BST
More than
100 people have been arrested in London as further protests took place in
several cities after the Southport stabbings.
A police car
was set alight after a large group of people gathered in the Murray Street area
of Hartlepool on Wednesday evening. Officers were attacked with missiles, glass
bottles and eggs, Cleveland police said.
In
Manchester, demonstrators turned out in large numbers outside the Holiday Inn
hotel on Oldham Road at about 6pm on Wednesday, the Manchester Evening News
reported.
About 40
people, which the paper reported included children and men wearing balaclavas,
gathered outside the Oldham Road premises in what the paper said “appeared to
be a stand against asylum seekers currently being housed in the hotel”.
In London, a
large protest was staged under the title of Enough is Enough, with arrests made
after demonstrators clashed with officers in Whitehall on Wednesday.
The
Metropolitan police said: “Over 100 people have been arrested for offences
including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of
protest conditions. Some officers suffered minor injuries.”
Demonstrators
were seen launching beer cans and glass bottles at a line of police in riot
gear in front of Downing Street and throwing flares on to the statue of Winston
Churchill in Parliament Square.
The angry
scenes also included loud chants of “we want our country back” and “Oh Tommy
Robinson”, referring to the rightwing activist.
Four people
were arrested after rioters in Hartlepool threw missiles, glass bottles and
eggs at police during a disturbance linked to events in Southport.
A police car
was also set alight during large-scale unrest over several hours in Hartlepool
town centre on Wednesday night.
The protest
began at about 6pm and led to the rapid deployment of police officers from
Cleveland police as well as neighbouring forces.
Several
hundred people gathered on the streets. Pictures and videos show police with
riot shields being threatened by protesters carrying wooden bats and poles.
There were also children throwing missiles at police.
Some of
those present were shouting anti-immigrant slogans.
At one point
police rescued a group of three men and a woman who appeared to have been
trapped in a terrace house. The woman was carried to safety by a member of her
group, and was highly distressed as she seemed to have had a panic attack.
Officers in
riot gear moved quickly down a street and extracted the group from a terrace
house where youths had gathered outside.
Firefighters
extinguished a blazing police car that had been set ablaze in the disorder.
After crews moved on people were seen posing for selfies in front of the
burnt-out vehicle.
The town
centre standoff between protesters and police went on until about midnight.
Cleveland
police also said it had made eight arrests for various offences including
public order and affray after violence broke out in Hartlepool on Wednesday,
with more arrests expected.
Ch Supt
David Sutherland said: “At this stage we believe the protest is in connection
with the incident in Southport earlier this week. Our officers are facing
missiles, glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them and have made arrests as
they remain in the area to protect the safety of those living in the
community.”
In
Manchester, the local councillor John Flanagan wrote on social media to respond
to the violence, labelling those involved in the “sickening” incident as
“mindless idiots”.
“I’d like to
condemn these mindless thugs, attacking innocent men who are asylum seekers.
They have been there for months and we have not had any issues or problems.
They have been in a place of safety,” the councillor for Miles Platting and
Newton Heath said.
“We cannot
allow our country and our city to descend into anarchy, which seems to be being
driven by madness on social media.”
In
Aldershot, the local MP Alex Baker rebuked the violence in her community,
stating there was “no justification for disorderly behaviour and the scenes do
not represent Aldershot and Farnborough”.
“I have
visited the scene myself this evening and have been in touch with the chief
inspector … We all support our shared right to peacefully protest but we will
not stand for people coming into our towns determined to stir up trouble and
divide our community.”
Violence
erupted in Southport on Tuesday after a vigil for three girls killed in a knife
attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Police
officers in Southport sustained serious injuries when bricks, stones and
bottles were thrown and cars were set alight during violent protests. The
disorder near the town’s mosque came after false rumours were circulated online
about the suspect.
Five people
have been arrested over the unrest so far, at which 53 officers and three
police dogs were injured.
A
17-year-old boy has been charged with the murders of the three girls. Alice
Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were
fatally stabbed on Monday at a dance class on Hart Street in Southport,
Merseyside.
Eight other
children sustained knife wounds with five of them in critical condition. Two
adults were also critically hurt.
The accused
has been remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool magistrates court, Derby
Square, on Thursday.
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