In recent days in many cities in Great Britain riots broke out, and on Saturday supporters of far-right organizations gathered in demonstrations in many places in England and Wales.
The protests began after the deaths of three little girls who were stabbed during a dance lesson in Southport, North West England. In accordance with British law, police did not initially release the identity of the 17-year-old juvenile attacker. However, this caused online misinformation that a Muslim migrant was behind the attack, which led to mass clashes, writes the “New York Times”. Police later had to reveal the identity of the attacker, who turned out to be a Welsh national with Christian parents originally from Rwanda.
Which groups are behind the unrest?
Several far-right groups have participated in the unrest or encouraged it on social media. David Miles, a prominent member of the fascist group Patriotic Alternative, has shared photos of himself in Southport, Hope Not Hate reported. (Hope Not Hate) - a British advocacy group that campaigns against racism and fascism before the publication.
Other far-right organisations, including the neo-Nazi group “British Movement”, have been spreading information about the protests on social media.
The demonstrations also attracted people associated with football hooliganism, which has long overlapped with nationalist movements in Britain, noted the “New York Times”.
Among all the others, however, the English Defense League stood out. The far-right movement, known for its violent protests and its anti-Islam and anti-immigration stance, was created in 2009, the publication recalls.
The group first formed in Luton after tensions rose there over a small group of Islamic extremists chanting abuse at British soldiers returning from Iraq. By this time, Luton was already associated with Islamic extremism, as it was home to a small number of supporters of "Al Muhajiroon" - an extremist group involved in the 2005 London bombings.
Among the prominent representatives of the English Defense League is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who is better known by his nickname Tommy Robinson. Born in Luton, he was a member of the far-right British National Party. He has been involved in hooliganism at football matches and in 2010 was convicted of leading football fans during riots in Luton.
In the early years of the group's existence, its regional units held local demonstrations, including protests in front of mosques, and engaged in actions such as placing pig's heads around Muslim sites.
In 2013, Yaxley-Lennon announced that he had severed his ties with the organization. And after management disputes and internal strife, the band later officially disbanded. However, experts say many of its supporters continue to be active through other nationalist organizations with similar goals and tactics.
In late 2010, Yaxley-Lennon gained prominence in international circles that shared his anti-Muslim stance, including in Europe and the United States. Last week he used social media, including his previously banned account on social platform X, which was reinstated by Elon Musk, to promote lies about the identity of the Southport attacker.
„Daily Mail“ reported that Robinson led the disinformation campaign surrounding recent events from a hotel in Cyprus. His social media posts, viewed and shared by hundreds of thousands of people, are full of claims of "hunting innocent English people" and anti-Muslim rhetoric such as "our women are not halal meat".
His associate Lawrence Fox also wrote in “X“ that "this is war" and "for decades British girls have been raped by migrant barbarians". This post has been viewed more than 3 million times.
Street extremism
According to Matthew Feldman, a specialist on right-wing extremism in Britain, the group represents a new stage in far-right British politics because, unlike the National Front or the British National Party, it does not take part in elections.
"This is a policy of direct action, disseminated and coordinated through the new media - by “Facebook“ to mobile phones and from digital movies to YouTube, Feldman wrote in a 2011 academic study by the English Defense League, cited by the New York Times.
It seems that there is no large formal organization behind the riots, and the participants are using social networks to try to recruit like-minded people, commented “Politico”. The publication notes that communication applications such as “WhatsApp“ and “Telegram” are used to organize gatherings in a short period of time, while in “Facebook“ calls to organize specific protests have been circulated.
"Although many or even most of the attendees are not part of any traditional far-right organization, they are inspired by far-right disinformation and engage in far-right activity," notes the organization “Hope, Not Hate”.
"Reform the UK" - the populist right-wing party led by Nigel Farage - distanced itself from the unrest and condemned the "violence seen over the past few days". However, Farage was criticized for spreading "conspiracy theories" about the Southport attack. He has also previously drawn attention to and criticized hotels that house migrants, which have come under attack during the current protests.
What is the reason for the violence?
Supporters of far-right movements are taking advantage of long-standing tensions over immigration and, more recently, the growing number of migrants entering the country illegally by crossing the English Channel on inflatable boats, the Associated Press commented.
Migration was a major campaign issue ahead of last month's parliamentary vote, with former prime minister Rishi Sunak vowing to stop the boats by deporting "illegal migrants" in their birthplaces. Although current Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped his plans after winning a landslide victory, he promised to reduce immigration by working with other European countries and speeding up the removal of failed asylum seekers.
Voter frustration is also fueled by the previous government's policy of housing asylum seekers in hotels, which cost British taxpayers 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) last year. This also happened against the background of failures in the provision of public services, while the government struggled to balance the budget, notes the AP.
Thus, the latest attack fueled hidden feelings of discontent, Stephanie Alice Baker, a sociologist at City University London, told the agency.
"These are tensions that are being seen in many countries right now. I would include to some extent the US, where feelings of nationalism are emerging, a feeling that people are being left behind, a feeling that their freedoms are being denied, that the sovereignty of the nation is under threat," she explained, adding that "much of this it really coincides with the rise in immigration and the cost of living crisis".