Archbishop of Canterbury warns Christians against membership of far-right groups

The archbishop of Canterbury has warned Christians they should not be part of any far-right groups, criticising the use of Christian imagery in this summer’s riots as “an offence to our faith”.

Writing in the Guardian , Justin Welby condemned the violent unrest, which he described as “racist”, “anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-asylum seeker”. His intervention follows a week of disorder that began after a mass stabbing of children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last month.

Related: After all these days of hate and violence in the UK, we must find a way to live together well | Justin Welby

The unrest, during which rioters attacked mosques, police officers and a hotel housing asylum seekers, was whipped up by far-right activists online who falsely claimed that a Muslim immigrant was behind the Southport attack.

Police across the country remain on high alert for further violence. Keir Starmer cancelled a planned holiday this weekend to lead the response to the unrest. Ministers believe the increased police presence and the speedy prosecution and sentencing of rioters have acted as a deterrent. More people are due to appear in court on Monday.

Thousands of anti-racism protesters rallied in towns and cities including Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and London over the weekend. Hundreds of mourners gathered on Sunday for the funeral of nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, one of three children who was killed in Southport.

The archbishop said the riots had been “detonated by lies and fuelled by deliberate misinformation, spread quickly online by bad actors with malignant motivations”. He said that that disinformation had “flourished in fertile ground cultivated by years of rhetoric from some of our press and politicians”.

Welby decried the use of Christian iconography by far-right rioters. “The Christian iconography that has been exploited by the far right is an offence to our faith, and all that Jesus was and is,” he said.

“Let me say clearly now to Christians that they should not be associated with any far-right group – because those groups are unchristian. Let me say clearly now to other faiths, especially Muslims, that we denounce people misusing such imagery as fundamentally anti-Christian.”

He praised community figures who had sought to heal tensions, including an imam in Liverpool who offered food to a small group of far-right rioters and engaged in conversation, and a group of bricklayers in Southport who helped to rebuild a mosque that had been vandalised. “We must develop and cherish these examples of civic virtue that have been counter-messages to those of the mob,” Welby said.

Last week, pictures of the imam Adam Kelwick and other worshippers at Abdullah Quilliam mosque in Liverpool engaging and sharing food with people targeting the mosque went viral.

Kelwick said afterwards: “The first ones who I approached, they acted as if I was invisible and they couldn’t see me. But I continued smiling and continued being friendly and then I went on to the next group until finally we broke through to somebody’s heart, and they accepted the food.

“Then everybody started taking the food, and we started discussing things with them. We had some really, really genuine interactions. Maybe four or five people, I asked them – what is it again exactly that you’re protesting against? Nobody had a clear answer for it. It just goes to show how frustrated, how misguided, a lot of people are.”

Welby also cited a Church of England chaplain in Sunderland who worked with international students to clear away debris created by the riots, and escorted black nurses to the hospital where they worked in the face of violent threats.

He wrote that the Christian teaching to love your neighbour “extended to those who were different, even ancient enemies”. He added: “This country has shown at times that it is capable of that embrace of difference. Let’s build more of those bonds, learning from those in riot-hit areas such as the imam in Liverpool and the chaplain in Sunderland, who have shown us a better way.”

Police chiefs said the unrest in Great Britain had “stabilised” over the weekend but that there had been “awful violence” in Northern Ireland, where violent clashes after an anti-immigration parade in Derry saw 20 police officers injured.

BJ Harrington, a chief constable and National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for public order, said: “Policing continues to stand strong and unified, with hard work and dedication from all of our workforce in the face of daily challenges.

“The situation in England, Scotland and Wales has somewhat stabilised over the last few days, but our colleagues in Northern Ireland have overnight experienced awful violence with significant injuries experienced by officers on the frontline and we are doing all we can to support them.

“We have seen and continue to see bravery and the utmost professionalism from our officers, staff and volunteers in dealing with these abhorrent incidents of violent disorder.

“No one should have to face the prospect of injury or abuse in their work, and our thoughts are with all of those who have suffered injuries in the course of their duties. We are working around the clock to bring offenders to justice and ensure the safety of our communities.”

Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, wrote in the Observer that the impact of the unrest would be “felt for months and years” in the criminal justice system, which was already facing a massive backlog of court cases and dwindling space in prisons.

Mahmood said the Ministry of Justice had brought forward more than 500 prison places to make sure there was space for those being sent to custody. “The impact of these days of disorder will be felt for months and years to come. They make the job of rebuilding the justice system harder,” she wrote.

“They also offer a sobering reminder of how much worse things might have been had this government not acted fast, a few weeks ago, to address the crisis in our criminal justice system before it was too late.” Soon after Labour entered government in July, ministers announced that they would release some inmates early to free up prison space .

Welby said reconciliation after the riots would require “research into the deep-rooted causes of division and facing uncomfortable truths”, and added: “Those communities left behind in our country’s race to growth reflect the rich and precious diversity that is our nation today.

“It will involve serious conversations about what it means to live together well, knowing we share lots in common: streets, schools, universities, workplaces, media, as well as our fundamental humanity. Embracing the opportunities and challenges offered by living in such a diverse country is a task for all of us, and it is clear from the last few weeks that that work is long overdue.”