THE UK government and police breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday after further anticipated far-right riots failed to materialise overnight and thousands of anti-racism protesters massed on the streets instead.
The anti-racism demonstrations on Wednesday evening passed off almost entirely peacefully after police flooded the streets of numerous English towns and cities and reiterated violence by suspected far-right agitators would not be tolerated.
It follows a week of near-nightly riots — during which mosques and migrant-related facilities have been attacked — nationwide and in Northern Ireland.
The violence was fuelled by misinformation spread on social media about the suspected perpetrator of a knife attack on July 29 which killed three children.
London’s Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley, who ordered thousands of officers onto the streets of the capital on Wednesday, said he was “really pleased” with how events unfolded.
“I think the show of force from the police — and frankly, the show of unity from communities together — defeated the challenges that we’ve seen,” he told UK broadcasters.
Rowley noted there had been a small number of arrests due to “some local criminals” engaging in anti-social behaviour in some locations but that fears of “extreme-right disorder were abated”.
Attention will now turn to the coming weekend and whether there will be a repeat of the disorder then.
Some of the worst scenes of violence were recorded last weekend.
Junior interior minister Diana Johnson cautioned that Wednesday’s respite was “just the start”.
“It’s good that we didn’t see the level of disorder and criminality on our streets that we have in previous days,” she told Sky News.
