Far-right violence explodes across the UK

Riots sweep Britain as crowds championing anti-immigration and Islamophobic rhetoric clash with police over social media misinformation about Southport knife attack


Riots since Jul 31

Belfast
Manchester 
Blackburn
Blackpool
Southport
Bolton 
Liverpool 
Stoke 
Tamworth 
Birmingham 
Bristol 
Plymouth
Sunderland 
Hartlepool 
Middlesbrough
Darlington
Leeds 
Rotherham
Hull
Nottingham
Leicester 
London
Aldershot 
Portsmouth
Weymouth


Jul 29: Three girls (from left) Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, Bebe King, 6, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9 are fatally stabbed in Southport. Eight other children and two adults are injured. Police detain 17-year-old suspect at scene

Jul 30: Russian-associated website Channel 3 Now posts fake name for attacker, Ali Al-Shakati, alleged to be Muslim immigrant. Around 300 rioters, linked to the English Defence League, attack local mosque with bricks, bottles and rocks

Jul 31: Rioters attack Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers in Manchester. Violence spreads to Hartlepool, Bristol and London, leading to over 100 arrests

Aug 1: Authorities identify underage suspect in bid to stop rumours

Aug 2-6: Far-right riots erupt in Sunderland, Liverpool, Hull, Belfast, Middlesbrough and Rotherham – where Holiday Inn Express, used to house asylum seekers, suffers attack. Further escalations occur in Bolton and Greater Manchester. 428 people arrested – 120 charged

Aug 7: Some 6,000 riot officers around country monitor reports of more than 100 planned far-right demonstrations targeting asylum centres and immigration law firms across the country and 30 counter- protests. Extra 600 prison spaces made available for rioters


Elon Musk: Billionaire owner of X becomes engaged in war of words with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over riots gripping UK. Musk criticised for tweeting:
“Civil war is inevitable”


Who is responsible? In eyes of British public, rioters themselves and social media to blame for unrest

Great deal of responsibility 	
Fair amount of responsibility 	
Not much responsibility 
No responsibility

Those taking part in the unrest themselves
71%	17%	3%	2%	Don’t know 7%
Responsible: 88% 

Social media
56%	30%	6%	2%	Don’t know 6%
Responsible: 86%


YouGov survey of 2,114 UK adults, Aug 5, 6, 2024 


Sources: Associated Press, Manchester Evening News Reuters, YouGov
Pictures: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images, Merseyside Police 
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