Riots last night: 25,000 counter-protesters give country hope | UK News
Counter-protests nationwide winding down as far-right threat fails to materialise
Several counter-protests nationwide have started to wind down as the far-right threat of further rioting and disruption has failed to materialise.
Anti-racist protests in Sheffield, Liverpool, Brentford, and Finchley and Walthamstow in London have all started to disperse – a clear contrast to the far-right rioting and disorder running well into the night last week.
More than 40 ‘Enough is enough’ demos had been planned this evening, from Paisley to Dover, but it seems the huge crowds of anti-fascists coming out in support of Asian, Muslim and immigrant communities have kept rioters at bay.
Chants of ‘whose streets, our streets’, ‘free, free Palestine’, and ‘refugees are welcome here’ easily drowned out the few far-right agitators who turned up as planned this evening.
However it’s clear not every demo and counter-protest has remained calm this evening.
Three people have been arrested in Northampton, with eight arrests in Croydon.
The Metropolitan Police said about 50 people gathered in North End Road, Croydon, and had ‘made clear their intention is to cause disruption and fuel disorder’.
The force said people had dragged and thrown objects down the road, and thrown bottles at officers – with eight people being arrested for ‘assaulting emergency workers, possession of offensive weapons and other offences’.
A police statement added: “This is not linked to protest, this appears to be pure anti-social behaviour.”
