Far-right protesters in Southport have pelted police with glass bottles and bricks and attacked a mosque, after a knife attack that killed three children.
Merseyside police said an officer suffered a suspected broken nose and police vehicles have been damaged and set alight in the disturbances.
“At around 7.45pm, a large group of people – believed to be supporters of the English Defence League – began to throw items towards a local mosque on St Luke’s Road in Southport,” the force said.
“Officers who are deployed are currently dealing with criminal behaviour and violence with bottles and wheelie bins being thrown at them.”
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all fatally stabbed in the attack on Monday. Eight other children suffered stab wounds and five are in a critical condition, alongside two adults who were also critically injured.
In the aftermath of the attack, for which a 17-year-old has been arrested, several false accusations were spread on social media with incorrect names of the attacker. The only details released about the suspect by police are that he is a 17-year-old from the village of Banks in Lancashire, who was born in Cardiff.
The online misinformation was earlier condemned by the home secretary Yvette Cooper .
Hundreds of people took part in a peaceful vigil on Tuesday evening outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, with many in tears as they laid flowers and cards of remembrance. But the vigil was followed by a far-right protest outside a local mosque, which quickly turned violent.
Demonstrators gathered in the area surrounding Hart Street, where Monday’s tragedy took place. The crowd of hundreds were heard shouting Islamophobic slogans as well as “no surrender”, “English till I die” and “we want our country back” as a police helicopter circled overhead.
Riot police charged the demonstrators after a police van was set alight and other police vehicles were damaged . Officers deployed teargas to try to fight back the angry crowds of predominantly men covering their faces.
Some officers were injured after plant pots and empty bins were among the missiles hurled at them and the Southport mosque building. A group of people attempted to overturn a riot van. Some men were seen pulling down a crumbling wall to use the bricks as weapons, pelting officers with them. Others ripped open black bin bags, looking for objects to throw.
Some spectators watched from front gardens, while passersby looked on, saying: “I can’t believe it, it’s horrible isn’t it?” While another said: “This doesn’t achieve anything.”
Assistant chief constable Alex Goss, said: “It is sickening to see this happening within a community that has been devastated by the tragic loss of three young lives.
“Yesterday, our officers and other members of the emergency services were faced with one of the most difficult situations they will ever face. Tonight, they find themselves being attacked as they endeavour to prevent disorder.”
He added: “There has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody, and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets.
“We have already said that the person arrested was born in the UK and speculation helps nobody at this time.”
Home secretary Yvette Cooper said it was “appalling” police officers in Southport were facing attacks from “thugs on the streets who have no respect for a grieving community”, adding: “It’s a total disgrace.”
Southport MP Patrick Hurley said he condemned any attack on emergency services, adding: “These are the same services that responded to the tragic attack yesterday.”
“I want to thank our community for pulling together and supporting every person who has been affected by Monday’s tragic attack,” he said. “Nowhere was this more evident than the solidarity, remembrance and sympathy heard at today’s vigil.”
The violence was so serious that Merseyside police were forced to call in reinforcements. Officers were rushed in from north Wales, Lancashire, Greater Manchester as well as from the Cheshire force.
In a tweet Merseyside police said: “Officers who had completed a shift in work today are back on duty supporting colleagues in Southport.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0