Anti-Muslim violence after Southport attack highlights UK far-right threat

A storm of anti-Muslim disinformation on social media has fuelled far-right violence in the aftermath of a fatal stabbing attack in the northern English seaside town of Southport.

A mob of up to 300 people including members of the English Defence League – an anti-Muslim far-right group – targeted a mosque in the town near Liverpool on Tuesday night, attacking police officers, torching cars and destroying properties.

More than 50 police officers sustained injuries, including fractures, cuts, and concussions, drawing vehement condemnation from top politicians, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Violence has since spread to other areas, with hundreds of far-right supporters clashing with police in central London late Wednesday, injuring more cops and leading to more than 100 arrests.

In the town of Hartlepool in northeast England, unrest continued into the early hours of Thursday as people set ablaze a vehicle and rioted in and around Murray Street, an area where Muslims live and there is a mosque.

The rioting has been primarily fanned by online misinformation regarding the identity of the attacker who killed three minor girls and injured five other children and two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday.

False reports spread by extremist far-right social media accounts suggested the suspect was a Muslim and a migrant, claims that were reflected in the mob’s anti-Muslim vitriolic chants.

Police have so far said the suspect is a 17-year-old man born in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, and lived in a village near Southport.

Serena Kennedy, chief constable of Merseyside Police, warned there is a risk of more violence and riots in the coming days, citing intelligence about further protests “potentially into the weekend.”

“We are planning now for the next 24 hours, but also into the weekend and into next week,” she told reporters.

‘Muslims have absolutely nothing to do with this’

In Southport, residents have banded together to support the Muslim community and clean up the town.

Dozens gathered outside the Southport Mosque with brushes and shovels, clearing bricks from a wall knocked down by rioters.

Ibrahim Hussein, head of the Southport Mosque, expressed gratitude to the police and other community members:

“We came under attack for absolutely no reason. We don’t even know who did this evil action .... We would like to thank the police very much, because they took a lot of casualties, and they didn’t need to.”

He also believes the rioters were not from Southport.

“They’re coming from outside, obviously helping each other and texting each other and telling each other to come and meet here and destroy this building and destroy the people here,” he told Anadolu.