Riots broke out in the English seaside town of Southport on Tuesday following a gruesome mass stabbing allegedly committed by a teenager of migrant heritage, which left three children dead.
Merseyside Police declared a “major incident” after 39 police officers were injured, with 27 hospitalized, during a protest over the attack on a children’s ‘Taylor Swift’ dance party in Southport on Monday. The violence resulted in three young girls dead and ten others injured.
Officers suffered bone fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose, and a concussion during the chaos outside a local mosque. Rioters threw bricks, bottles, and other makeshift missiles at the police, and law enforcement vehicles were set on fire.
This is very very very ugly now pic.twitter.com/9wYwZf7Pc1
— Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) July 30, 2024
In response, Merseyside Police enacted a 24-hour Section 60 Order, allowing officers to stop and search anyone in the area without needing to demonstrate cause. They also implemented a Section 34 Order, which gives officers the power to seize any item, including vehicles, used in the commission of anti-social behavior. This order also allows for the arrest of anyone returning to the area who had been instructed by police to leave.
The local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo, reported that police suspect the riots were encouraged by the English Defence League (EDL), an organization that disbanded nearly a decade ago. Its founder, Tommy Robinson, left the country before this week’s attack. Many legacy media outlets and political figures characterized Tuesday’s protests as “far-right.”
A large group of mostly men are persistently pelting a mosque with objects. Armed police have now arrived. pic.twitter.com/zNLwmizTW9
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) July 30, 2024
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer led the condemnation, pledging to bring the “full force of the law” on those involved in the riots. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the violence a “total disgrace,” stating, “It is so appalling to now see those same police facing violent attacks from thugs on the streets who have no respect for a grieving community.”
However, some noted a difference in Cooper’s tone compared to her reaction to riots involving Roma individuals in Leeds just five days earlier, where she referred to the rioters merely as “individuals.” Lord Goldsmith, a former government minister, commented that while it was right to be strong on disorder, Cooper’s statement “couldn’t contrast more starkly with Home Office Ministers’ reactions to the Manchester riots, where violent thugs demanded instant justice ‘or else’ & where Ministers bent over backwards to explain that they ‘understood’ the anger.”
Goldsmith questioned, “Why has the Home Office response to these two events been so different? Can they not see how this feeds the narrative of a two-tier approach and drives people to the far right? It is extraordinarily shortsighted and unwise.”
Former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf expressed that those protesting against the killings of children don’t actually care about the children. He stated, “Attacking mosques and chanting Islamophobic abuse. Let’s not pretend the far-right care one jot about children murdered in Southport. These thugs are scum who are exploiting the killing of children for their own bigoted ends. This is what happens when you appease the far-right.”
Following the mass stabbing, Yousaf, Scotland’s first Muslim leader, said, “Simply awful. Our only response to the evil we witnessed in Southport yesterday should be an outpouring of grief for the children and adults killed in such a senseless attack. If you use such a horrific tragedy to fuel bigotry, then you are the worst of humanity.”
The riots and subsequent reactions underscore the complex and often polarizing nature of public and political responses to acts of violence and the ensuing societal unrest.
