©Getty Images/Christopher Furlong
Right-wing protesters in the English town of Rotherham have set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers, as demonstrations against immigration and Islam continue across the country. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed that the rioters will “face the full force of the law.”
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on Sunday afternoon, pelting police officers with wood and bottles and chanting “get them out,” referring to the 130 asylum seekers housed in the hotel since 2022.
South Yorkshire police said at least ten officers were injured in clashes with the rioters, who broke windows and set dumpsters ablaze outside the building, before setting a fire inside the hotel’s ground floor.
Multiple arrests were made, and the fire was extinguished shortly afterwards.
Patriots have now stormed the holiday inn Rotherham 👀 pic.twitter.com/yfXGEydn4r
— Truth Hurts 🏴 (@Truthhurts101UK) August 4, 2024
Dozens of British towns and cities have been rocked by right-wing protests and riots since Monday, when a British teenager of Rwandan descent stabbed three children to death and injured ten others in the town of Southport, near Liverpool. Although initially sparked by a false rumor that the knifeman responsible for the stabbings was Muslim, the demonstrations have since grown into a wider backlash against Islam, mass immigration, and the perception that political leaders are more concerned with suppressing right-wing dissent than tackling immigrant crime.
More than 150 people were arrested after riots in Liverpool, Manchester, Stoke, Leeds and other cities on Saturday. Similar riots took place in locations including Middlesbrough, Blackburn, and Tamworth on Sunday. Mobs of Muslim protesters, some armed with knives and machetes, have been seen in some cities, including Bolton and Stoke.
In a speech on Sunday, Starmer warned that more arrests would follow. “Those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law,” he declared, warning that those responsible “will regret taking part in this disorder.” In Sunday’s address and in a similar speech earlier this week, Starmer did not discuss any of the root causes of the unrest. Instead he pinned all blame for the violence on “far right hatred” and online “misinformation.”
Sir Keir Starmer has told far right thugs that they “will regret” their actions, as mobs set fire to hotels housing asylum seekers in Rotherham and Tamworth.
Addressing the nation following days of chaos across England, the prime minister said: “The police will be making arrests. Individuals will be held on remand, charges will follow and convictions will follow.
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves.
“This is not a protest, it is organised, violent thuggery and it has no place on our streets or online.”
It comes as masked rioters assembled outside Holiday Inn hotels in both Rotherham and Tamworth and clashed with police. Thugs in both places smashed windows as they attempted to gain entry to the hotels before setting fires.
At least 147 people have been arrested so far after riots rocked major cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Hull and Stoke, leaving destruction in their wake.
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, has been accused of stoking the riots from his Cyprus holiday resort through “inflammatory online posts”. He is believed to have left the country earlier last week after a judge issued an arrest warrant.
Rioting broke out across the UK this week fuelled by online lies following the murders of three girls in Southport on Monday.
Posts wrongly claimed suspect Axel Rudakubana, 17, was a Muslim asylum seeker. He was actually born in Cardiff and raised Christian.
Terrifying days of violence followed the attack in Southport, before spreading to Hartlepool and Manchester on Wednesday, Sunderland and Blackpool on Friday then 11 more cities by Saturday.
Footage from Rotherham on Sunday showed masked yobs kicking out windows to storm the Holiday Inn Express, which houses migrants.
A towering blaze broke out as the group of 700 outside the hotel chanted: “Get them out.”
One injured cop was seen being carried to safety by colleagues.
Cops later confirmed at least 10 were injured, including an officer who was knocked unconscious, another who suffered a suspected broken elbow and another suffering from suspected broken bones.
Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield said: “Today in Rotherham we have seen our officers attacked and at least ten injured, significant damage caused and a fire set outside a hotel full of terrified residents and staff.
"The behaviour we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting."
Later in the night hundreds descended on the Holiday Inn in Tamworth, where three petrol bombs were used to start "a series of fires," according to Staffordshire Police.
Footage shared widely online showed a towering blaze ignite inside a smashed window of the hotel.
Officers were assaulted, with one left with a suspected broken arm.
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Ellison said: “The senseless violence and acts of despicable thuggery in Tamworth tonight are completely inexcusable. The local community do not deserve to be subject to this behaviour, and neither do the brave officers putting themselves in harm’s way to keep everyone safe."
Meanwhile another migrant hotel, this time in Aldershot, was also targeted.
A group of men outside Potters International Hotel brandished a banner insisting: “We’re not far right, we’re just right.”
By 6.45pm a crowd of some 200 "got involved in criminal activity, throwing objects and subjecting people to racist abuse," according to Hampshire Police.
The force confirmed five men were arrested aged 32, 25, 18, 28 and 60.
At Middlesbrough’s Cenotaph, hundreds of protesters squared up to police before throwing slate, cans and pots at the officers.
A group of masked yobs walked through a residential area using metal bars and wooden posts to smash car windscreens and the windows of terraced houses.
Vehicles were torched, along with wheelie bins.
One victim, a white man in his 40s who did not want to be named, said: “I’m born and bred in Middlesbrough and these morons target my house just for the hell of it. I could hear them yelling about immigrants, but they were smashing cars and house windows indiscriminately.
"They're the scum of the earth."
Cleveland Police confirmed 43 people were arrested by 1.28am on Monday, adding: "A full investigation is now underway."
ACC David Felton, said: “The level of violence we have seen today is staggering. We know the shocking scenes across Middlesbrough today will have caused alarm amongst communities.
“I want to reassure the people of Teesside that we will continue to identify those involved in these acts of violence and arrest them and put them before the courts.”
Three men, aged 42, 62 and 27, were arrested trying to break through police lines.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Callaghan said: “There were rumours circulating that asylum seekers currently housed on the Bibby Stockholm would be moved to Portland, Weymouth or the wider Dorset Council area but the Home Office have confirmed this is not the case. In addition, there are no asylum seekers housed in hotels in the Weymouth area."
There was a large turnout in Hull, scene of earlier violence.
Greater Manchester Police said a Section 34 dispersal notice had been authorised until 10pm yesterday, giving officers extra powers to deal with anyone causing anti-social behaviour.
Chief Inspector Natasha Evans said the force was acting to “prevent serious disruption and ensure everyone can go about their lives without fear or risk of harm”.
Merseyside Police introduced two Section 60 orders in Liverpool and Southport between 2pm yesterday and 2am today, giving officers greater stop-and-search powers.
Last night faith leaders in Merseyside issued a joint statement calling for calm and urging people to hold the families of Southport stabbing victims Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at “the forefront of all our thoughts”.
They said: “Division can destroy the very relationships and environment that we depend upon every day of our lives and there is no place for hate in our communities.
“It can — and has — left communities in fear and has put people in danger. At this difficult time, let us remember that there is far more that unites than divides us.
“The people of all faiths and none who came out to sweep the streets, to rebuild walls and have so generously donated money in memory of those three girls — that is the spirit that will help us through this incredibly challenging time.”
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