Thousands of police and anti-racism protesters gathered on streets across Britain on Wednesday to challenge expected far-right groups that failed to materialize following more than a week of violent racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants.
Britain has been hit by a series of riots that erupted early last week after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, triggering a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant.
Posts online had said far-right, anti-Muslim protesters would target a list of immigration centers, migrant support centers and specialist law firms on Wednesday, prompting many businesses to close early and some shops to board up windows.
The reports prompted the deployment of thousands of police officers, and crowds of protesters massed in towns and cities including London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool and Hastings, holding banners saying “Fight racism,” “Stop the far right” and “Will trade racists for refugees.”
The protesters were made up of a diverse collection 스포츠 of Muslims, anti-racist and anti-fascist groups, trade unionists, left-wing organizations, and locals appalled at the riots that had hit the country.
By 9 p.m., there were no reports of any serious disorder. Police said around 50 people in Croydon, south London, had thrown bottles and were trying to cause disruption.
Waste collector Stetson Matthew, 64, who joined thousands of demonstrators in Walthamstow, northeast London, said people had the right to protest but that the targeting of ethnic minorities had put the country on edge.
“Everybody has the right to do what they need to do but what they must do is to put their voices across peacefully, amicably, without any stress or violence,” he said.
One woman who joined a counterprotest in Hastings, southeast England, said she was relieved to see a large turnout.
“I felt I absolutely had to be here tonight to take a stand, and it is much easier for me to come as a white woman than for some of my non-white friends, so I’m here in solidarity,” said 37-year-old Lucy, a flower grower, who declined to give her last name.