2024-08-02 11:59:40
In Manchester on Wednesday around 18:00. a large number of demonstrators gathered outside the Holiday Inn hotel in Oldham Road, the Manchester Evening News reported.
Around 40 people, which the paper said included children and men wearing balaclavas, gathered outside the Oldham Road premises. This, according to the newspaper, “appeared to be a protest against the asylum seekers currently housed in the hotel”.
A large protest called “Enough is Enough” took place in London and people were arrested after demonstrators clashed with officers in the Whitehall area on Wednesday.
“More than 100 people were arrested for offenses including violent disorder, assaulting an ambulance worker and breaching the terms of the protest. Some officers suffered minor injuries,” the Metropolitan Police said.
Demonstrators were seen throwing beer cans and glass bottles at a line of police in riot gear outside Downing Street and throwing flares at a statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.
Eight people have been arrested after rioters in Hartlepool threw glass bottles and eggs at police during disturbances linked to incidents in Southport.
A police car was also set on fire in Hartlepool town center during hours of widespread unrest on Wednesday night.
The protest started around 6 p.m. in the evening and resulted in the immediate deployment of police officers from Cleveland Police and neighboring forces.
Several hundred people gathered in the streets. Photos and videos show police wearing riot shields being threatened by protesters carrying wooden sticks and batons. There were also children throwing things at the police.
Some in the crowd shouted anti-immigrant slogans.
At one point, police rescued a group of three men and a woman who appeared to be trapped on the terrace of a house. The woman was taken to safety and was very depressed, appearing to be having a panic attack.
Officers in riot gear moved quickly down the street and pulled a group of people out of the terraced house where the youths had gathered.
Firefighters put out a police car set on fire during the riots. After crews moved on, people were seen posing for selfies next to the burnt-out car.
The confrontation between protesters and the police in the city center continued until around midnight.
Chief Inspector David Sutherland of Cleveland Police said: “We currently believe the protest is related to an incident in Southport earlier this week. Our officers are faced with glass bottles and eggs being thrown at them, so in order to protect the safety of the community, they have arrested the criminals.”
In Manchester, local councilor John Flanagan took to social media to react to the violence, calling those involved in the “disgusting” incident “mindless idiots”.
“I would like to condemn these callous thugs who attacked innocent men who are asylum seekers. They’ve been here for a few months now and we’ve had no hiccups or issues. They were in safe places,” said Platting and Newton Heath councilor Miles.
“We cannot allow our country and our city to descend into the anarchy that appears to be fueled by the madness of social media.”
In Aldershot, local MP Alex Baker condemned the violence in her community, saying “there is no excuse for disorderly behavior and these scenes are not representative of Aldershot and Farnborough”.
“I visited the scene myself this evening and contacted the Chief Inspector. We all support the common right to protest peacefully, but we will not tolerate people coming into our cities determined to cause unrest and divide our community.”
Violence broke out in Southport on Tuesday after a service for three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Police officers in Southport suffered serious injuries after bricks, stones and bottles were thrown and cars were set on fire during violent protests. The unrest broke out near a mosque in the city after false rumors about the suspect spread online.
Five people have been arrested so far in connection with the unrest, which injured 53 officers and three police dogs.
A 17-year-old boy is accused of killing three girls. Nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe were stabbed to death on Monday at a dance class in Hart Street, Southport, Merseyside.
Eight other children were stabbed, five of them in critical condition. Two adults were also seriously injured.
The accused has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court in Derby Square on Thursday.
Unrest in three UK cities prompts Mr Starmer to take tough action
A night of unrest in three British cities in which dozens of people were arrested prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to call an emergency meeting of police chiefs on Thursday.
The far-right organized protests during which cars were burned outside Starmer’s official residence. Crowds gathered after an attack in the seaside town on Monday in which three little girls were stabbed to death.
Mr Starmer is reported to have summoned senior police chiefs to Downing Street today to offer them “the full support of the Government following a series of high-profile incidents of extreme violence and disorder on our streets”.
“More than 100 people were arrested for offenses including violent disorder, assaulting an aid worker and breaching the terms of the protest,” London’s Metropolitan Police said, adding that some officers suffered minor injuries. Tensions rose during a demonstration outside Mr Starmer’s Downing Street residence, where fights broke out, bottles were thrown at police and shouts of “Shame”. One protester told AFP the killing of the girls was “the last straw, we’ve had enough”.
In a meeting with police chiefs, Mr Starmer will say that while the right to protest must be protected, “criminals who use this right to incite hatred and commit violent acts will face the full force of the law,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. The Labor government has promised to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour. Mr Starmer will tell police chiefs “to not hesitate to use their powers to stop senseless violence at its earliest stages and ensure justice is done”, the statement said.
Painting clothes „The Guardian“ inf.
2024-08-02 11:59:40