UK riots: Why are far-right groups attacking immigrants and Muslims? (2024)

As riots continue to rage in the United Kingdom, hotels housing asylum seekers have been torched by far-right agitators.

The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Tamworth, in northern England, was set alight. Rioters also gathered near the Holiday Inn Express hotel used to house asylum seekers in Rotherham. Both incidents took place on Sunday.

Protests led by far-right groups have escalated into clashes with police in multiple towns, as a wave of unrest, fuelled by xenophobia and misinformation surrounding the tragic killing of three young girls in a stabbing incident, sweeps across the country. About 400 people have been arrested.

“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, either directly or those whipping up this disorder online,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a televised address on Sunday. He has cast the riots as “organised illegal thuggery” by a minority of Britons.

In the grips of a sixth day of violence, Downing Street held a Cabinet Office briefing room (Cobra) emergency meeting.

Here’s what you should know:

What led to this moment?

Last week, during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop at a community centre in Southport, England, three young girls were stabbed to death by a 17-year-old suspect, Axel Rudakubana. He was born in Cardiff, the Welsh capital, reportedly to Christian Rwandan parents.

False information on social media claimed the suspect was a Muslim immigrant.

Those rioting are vocal about their hatred of immigrants. But there is also a sense of underlying xenophobia against minority communities in the UK, especially Muslims, said analysts.

Rosa Freedman, a professor at the University of Reading, told Al Jazeera that the riots were a result of the former Conservative government’s complicity with such “racist” far-right groups.

“Instead of hiding their faces, they have now been coming out … we cannot blame a Labour Party that has [only] been in government [for] the past four weeks,” she said.

Meanwhile, agitators like Tommy Robinson are stoking tensions.

Born Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, the far-right activist and co-founder of the English Defence League (EDL), has been busy posting inflammatory video rants to his 800,000 followers on X, decrying Muslims, migrants, the political establishment and police.

He’s posting from afar, reportedly in Cyprus. A High Court judge issued an arrest warrant for Robinson after he failed to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday for a hearing in a contempt of libel court case he lost against Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi.

Influencer Andrew Tate, who has suggested the Southport suspect arrived in the UK on a boat, and MP Nigel Farage, more on him later, are also accused of stirring division.

Where are the riots?

In multiple cities and towns across the country.

In addition to Southport, Rotherham and Tamworth, clashes have also been reported in Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast in Northern Ireland, and other cities.

Posts are swirling on social media describing other planned far-right events. Al Jazeera could not independently verify these claims.

What has the government said?

Prime Minister Starmer said he “utterly” condemns “far-right thuggery”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated in a recent interview with Sky News:“There will be people who were thinking they were going on their summer holidays this week, and instead they will face a knock on the door from the police.”

Nigel Farage, the anti-immigration leader of the populist movement Reform UK who is now a sitting MP, has stoked tensions. In May, he suggested Muslims do not share British values.

“What you’ve seen on the streets of Hartlepool, London or Southport is nothing compared to what could happen over the course of the next few weeks,” Farage said recently.

He’s also justified the riots.

“The far right are a reaction to fear, to discomfort, to unease that is out there shared by tens of millions of people,” he said.

Neil Basu, the UK’s former head of counter-terrorism policing, has accused Farage of not going far enough to condemn the violence.

“Has Nigel Farage condemned the violence? Has he condemned the EDL? Fomenting discord in society is what these people seem to exist for,” Basu stated.

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson promised consequences and action against those responsible for the disorder and violence in the streets.

“When I saw people looting some of the shops in the city centre, that’s nothing to do with genuine protest or people having different opinions about immigration,” Johnson said.

What’s next?

Police and officials are telling the public that perpetrators of violence and abuse will be punished. Meanwhile, ethnic minority and migrant communities are becoming more fearful.

In a recent news conference, South Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield stated, “If you were there, we will find you and you will be held accountable for yesterday’s violence.”

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott said on X, “Nationwide anti-immigrant riots on a scale never seen before. Threatening life, property and our police force. We need to recall Parliament.”

Dame Sara Khan, an independent adviser for the review into social cohesion and resilience against extremism, told the Guardian that “extremist and cohesion threats are worsening”.

“Our country is woefully unprepared,” she said. “We’ve got a gap in our legislation which is allowing these extremists to operate with impunity.”