Liverpool — The British government has expanded its prison capacity in response to violent, weeklong anti-immigrant riots that have led several countries to warn their citizens about traveling to Britain.
Riots have erupted in various towns and cities following the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed event in Southport, a seaside town in northern England. False information spread on social media wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant. The justice department, currently facing a prison overcrowding crisis, announced that nearly 600 additional prison spaces have been secured to accommodate those involved in the violence.
So far, approximately 400 arrests have been made.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated, “My message to anyone who chooses to take part in this violence and thuggery is simple: the police, courts, and prisons stand ready, and you will face the consequences of your appalling acts.”
The unrest has prompted warnings from countries like India, Australia, and Nigeria, advising their citizens to remain vigilant.
Riva Peacock, a 22-year-old retail worker in Liverpool, expressed her shock at the violence. “There are a lot of people who blame immigrants for the state of this country,” she said. “It’s a real shame that some of the most vulnerable people in our society have been used as a scapegoat for these issues.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised accountability for those who have attacked mosques and hotels housing migrants, thrown bricks at police and counterprotesters, and looted shops and burned cars. On Tuesday, police charged a 28-year-old man with inciting racial hatred through Facebook posts related to the unrest. Additionally, a 14-year-old has pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
On Monday night, violence erupted in Plymouth, southern England, and again in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where hundreds of rioters threw petrol bombs and heavy objects at officers, setting a police Land Rover on fire.
An online message indicates that immigration centers and law firms assisting migrants would be targeted on Wednesday.
This outbreak of violence is the first widespread unrest in Britain in 13 years. Hundreds of men, along with some women and children, have attacked hotels housing asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East, chanting slogans like “get them out” and “stop the boats,” referring to asylum seekers arriving on small boats in southern England.
Videos circulating online show rioters pelting mosques with rocks, and some ethnic minorities being attacked. One protester in Sunderland was photographed with a swastika tattooed on his back.
In Birmingham, Britain’s second-largest city, videos from Monday evening showed a group of Asian men gathering with Palestinian flags after reports that anti-migrant protesters might target the area. Reporters on the scene reported hostility, with videos appearing to show a white man being attacked in a pub.
The potential for clashes between white and ethnic minority groups has revived memories of the race riots in Oldham and other northern towns in 2001, which an official report later attributed to a lack of social cohesion, with two communities living parallel lives.
The government has stated that the recent riots are not a justified response to concerns about immigration, but rather violence incited by far-right agitators, supported by football hooligans and young people.