What's behind the anti-immigrant violence that has exploded across Britain? Here's a look (2024)

LONDON (AP) — Britain has been convulsed by violence for the past week as crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans clashed with police. The disturbances have been fueled by right-wing activists using social media to spread misinformation about a knife attack that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

The violence, some of Britain’s worst in years, has led to hundreds of arrests as the government pledges that the rioters will feel “the full force of the law” after hurling bricks and other projectiles at police, looting shops and attacking hotels used to house asylum-seekers.

As Britain’s new government struggles to quell the unrest and announces a “standing army” of specialist police to deal with rioting, here’s a look at what’s happening and why.

When did the violence begin?

What's behind the anti-immigrant violence that has exploded across Britain? Here's a look (1)

People across Britain were shocked by what police described as a “ferocious knife attack” that killed three girls between 6 and 9 on July 29 in Southport, a seaside town north of Liverpool. Eight other children and two adults were injured.

Police detained a 17-year-old suspect. Rumors, later debunked, quickly circulated on social media that the suspect was an asylum-seeker, or a Muslim immigrant.

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The next day, as people gathered to comfort one another and lay flowers at the site, hundreds of protesters attacked a local mosque with bricks, bottles and rocks. Police said the rioters were “believed to be supporters of the English Defence League,” a far-right group that has organized anti-Muslim protests since 2009.

Authorities on Aug. 1 took the unusual step of identifying the underage suspect in an effort to stop the rumors about his identity, which were fueling the violence.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana has been charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. The suspect was born in Wales in 2006 and moved to the Southport area in 2013. His parents were originally from Rwanda.

How did the violence spread?

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The rioting spread to cities and towns in many parts of the U.K. as far-right activists circulated misinformation about the attack, according to the government and police.

Less than two hours after the stabbing, a social media user known as European Invasion said the attacker was “alleged to be a Muslim immigrant.” The allegation posted on X later appeared on Facebook and Telegram, according to Logically, a U.K.-based company that uses artificial and human intelligence to combat online propaganda.

The rumor was included in an article published by Channel 3Now, a site with suspected links to Russia, Logically said. The article was then cited by Russian state-affiliated news organizations including RT and Tass.

“It is likely that Channel 3Now is a Russian asset aimed at seeding information intended to cause online harm and create division in the U.K.,” Logically said in analysis posted on X.

Social media videos encourage like-minded people to engage in the types of unrest they see online, said Stephanie Alice Baker, a sociologist at City University of London who studies crowd behavior and the far right.

“There is always a tipping point where people feel emboldened and enabled to act on those feelings, and it’s typically when they see others doing the same thing, right?’’ she said.

Where has the unrest occurred?

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More than a dozen towns and cities have been caught up in the unrest including London, Hartlepool, Manchester, Middlesborough, Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Belfast, Nottingham and Leeds.

Some of the worst violence occurred Sunday, when hundreds of rioters stormed a Holiday Inn Express housing asylum-seekers in the town of Rotherham, outside Birmingham. Police in riot gear were pelted with bricks and chairs as they tried to defend the hotel from attackers who kicked in windows and pushed a burning wheelie bin inside. Hours later, another group attacked a hotel in Tamworth, 70 miles to the south.

What is the background to this violence?

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Agitators are exploiting long-simmering tensions over immigration and, more recently, the growing number of migrants who have entered the country illegally by crossing the English Channel in inflatable boats.

Those concerns were a central issue in last month’s election, with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promising to stop the boats by deporting “illegal immigrants” to Rwanda. Although current Prime Minister Keir Starmer cancelled the plan after he won a landslide victory, he has promised to reduce immigration by working with other European nations and speeding up the removal of failed asylum-seekers.

Fueling the frustration of voters was the previous government’s policy of housing asylum-seekers in hotels at a cost of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) last year. That came against the backdrop of failing public services as the government struggled to balance the budget.

The attack on the dance class feeds into latent feelings of discontent, Baker said.

“These are tensions that you see in a lot of countries right now. I would include the U.S. to some extent in that, where you have emerging feelings of nationalism, a sense that people are being left behind, a sense that people’s freedoms are being denied, that the sovereignty of the nation is at stake,’’ she said. “And a lot of this really coincides with a rise of immigration and a cost-of-living crisis.”

Have police responded adequately?

What's behind the anti-immigrant violence that has exploded across Britain? Here's a look (8)

While police have worked hard to restore order, they have been hurt by poor intelligence, forcing officers to respond to demonstrations rather than take steps to head them off, said Peter Williams, a former police inspector who is now a senior lecturer at the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies.

“If they knew where they’re going to happen, they obviously could do something about it,’’ he told The Associated Press.

Police forces are still struggling to recover from budget cuts that largely dismantled neighborhood policing, Williams said. “One of the key pluses for the policing side of neighborhood policing is that you have a consistent intelligence flow,’’ he said. “Well, that’s missing,” particularly in minority areas.

What's behind the anti-immigrant violence that has exploded across Britain? Here's a look (2024)

FAQs

What's behind the anti-immigrant violence that has exploded across Britain? Here's a look? ›

What is the background to this violence? Agitators are exploiting long-simmering tensions over immigration and, more recently, the growing number of migrants who have entered the country illegally by crossing the English Channel in inflatable boats.

What started the riots in Britain? ›

Over the past fortnight, racist mobs have rioted across England. The events began after a 17 year-old boy committed a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift dance class in the town of Southport, just north-west of Manchester and Liverpool. Three young girls were murdered, and 10 others injured.

What was one reason for anti-immigrant? ›

Opponents of immigration often state that immigrants have a net negative effect on public coffers mainly due to the provisioning of medical care and welfare. Various factors influence the impact of immigrants to a nation's public coffers and their use of welfare.

What caused anti-immigrant sentiment to increase in the United States during the 1800s? ›

These anti-immigrant, or nativist, sentiments had many sources. They were fueled by economic competition over jobs, housing, and public services, but also by religious, cultural, and political biases. Those beliefs were often intertwined with racist views of immigrants that saw them as debased, immoral, and criminal.

Which of these factors caused anti-immigrant feelings to run high during World War? ›

Which of these factors caused anti-immigrant feelings to run high during World War I? a rise in patriotism and nationalism.

What were the major causes of riots? ›

Historically, riots have occurred due to poverty, unemployment, poor living conditions, governmental oppression, taxation or conscription, conflicts between ethnic groups (race riot) or religions (e.g., sectarian violence, pogrom), the outcome of a sporting event (e.g., sports riot, football hooliganism) or frustration ...

What are the main causes of the 1948 riots? ›

In 1948 Ghana was rocked by riots following the killing of three Ghanaian WW2 veterans. They were shot by British colonial police during a protest march in Accra. They wanted compensation for their war service. It became a milestone in Ghana's struggle for independence.

What world country is most opposed to immigration? ›

The highest scores of all 53 countries analyzed were in Austria (34%), Germany (31%), the Netherlands (30%), France (28%) and Sweden (27%). The first non-EU country on the ranking was Chile with 26%. By contrast, migration is less important to countries such as Russia (5%), Ukraine (4%), Brazil (1%) and Nigeria (1%).

Which event contributed to the rise of anti-immigrant? ›

Answer. The outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917 contributed to the rise of anti-immigrant, anti-socialist, and anti-anarchist feelings in the United States.

What did the Anti Immigration Act do? ›

L. Tooltip Public Law (United States) 68–139, 43 Stat. 153, enacted May 26, 1924), was a federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.

What were two things that led to the anti-immigrant feelings in the 1920s? ›

Causes of the Red Scare
  • World War I, which led many to embrace strong nationalistic and anti-immigrant sympathies;
  • The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, which led many to fear that immigrants, particularly from Russia, southern Europe, and eastern Europe, intended to overthrow the United States government;

Why do people want to come to America? ›

Common reasons include finding better job opportunities, reuniting with family, or pursuing the “American Dream.” The United States has a long tradition of welcoming people from all backgrounds and cultures as is a great place for people that are looking to live outside of their home country.

Which group wanted to stop immigration? ›

However, some people who had been born in America wanted to limit the influx of new immigrants to the United States who were of a different ethnic origin from them because they feared losing their jobs and way of life to newcomers. This group called themselves 'nativists'.

What is the meaning of anti-immigrant sentiment? ›

opposed to or directed against people who come to a country in order to live there permanently: There has been a growing wave of anti-immigrant sentiment.

How many immigrants are allowed in the US each year? ›

The law governing U.S. immigration policy is called the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA allows the United States to grant up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across various visa categories.

Which event contributed to the rise of anti-immigrant, antisocialist, and anti-anarchist feelings in the United States in the years during and after World War I? ›

Expert-Verified Answer. The event that contributed to the rise of anti-immigrant, anti-socialist and anti-anarchist feelings in the United States during and just after World War was "the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917."

What started the Birmingham riots? ›

The riots were derived from ethnic tensions between the Caribbean and British Asian communities, with the spark for the riot being an alleged gang rape of a teenage black girl by a group of South Asian men. The rape allegation has never been substantiated.

Why did riots occurred in England due to food crisis? ›

Furthermore, many food riots were not solely concerned with the price of grain but were frequently related to issues of supply, of grain being exported out of a region during periods of scarcity and of farmers hoarding grain in order to create artificial shortages.

What led to riots and protests by the colonists? ›

On March 22, 1765, British Parliament passed the Stamp Tax. The levy required colonists to pay taxes on every page of printed paper they used. The tax also included fees for playing cards and dice. The reaction in the colonies was immediate and intense.

What made the people of England riot in the year 1752? ›

It was the nonsensical fallacy of ordinary working lives being physically shortened due to Parliament changing a once trusted and traditional calendar system that may have contributed to rumours of angry riots taking place on the streets of England.

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