3 Sunderland police injured in far-right attacks, 8 rioters arrested
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Northumbria police say that three police officers were hurt and were sent to the hospital, with one eventually discharged.
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A photo of the Sunderland police station set on fire (X/@damekatydenise_)
Following another night of rioting and unrest in parts of the UK, eight people have been arrested in Sunderland on charges of violent disorder and burglary.
Northumbria police also said three police officers were hurt and were sent to the hospital. Since then, one has been discharged.
While police attempted to manage several hundred demonstrators, at least one building is believed to have been set on fire and a car was overturned and set ablaze.
In the city center and at a neighboring mosque on St Mark's Road, police officers were attacked with beer cans and stones by demonstrators donning balaclavas and others with the England flag draped over them.
Nick Lowles, from the organization, Hope Not Hate, said, “A far right and racist protest has culminated in this. Shame on all those who continue to excuse these protests.”
Sunderland now. This is on you Farage! pic.twitter.com/QBm2WHoHsK
— Dr. Dame Katy Denise CH GBE 🏳️⚧️🇳🇬🪑 (@damekatydenise_) August 2, 2024
Promoted by far-right activists on social media, the protests launched at the newly refurbished Keel Square as footage showed young men hurling stones at police and shouting: “Whose streets? Our streets,” in addition to Islamophobic chants.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated in response, “Criminals attacking the police and stoking disorder on our streets will pay the price for their violence and thuggery... The police have the full backing of government to take the strongest possible action and ensure they face the full force of the law... They do not represent Britain.”
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, stated, “We take the recent incidents of violent disorder extremely seriously and we are ready to respond rapidly if there is a fresh outbreak."
Read more: UK police urged to protect mosques amid 19 new far-right rallies
He revealed that extra prosecutors were called in to support police “and ready to make immediate charging decisions so that justice is swiftly delivered.”
North East mayor Kim McGuinness posted on X how she is "appalled by the scenes from Sunderland. Make no mistake, if your response to tragedy is to use it to commit violence, to abuse others, attack the police and damage property you stand for nothing except thuggery. It’s not protest."
The people of Sunderland are warm, welcoming, hard working and proud.
— Kim McGuinness (@KiMcGuinness) August 3, 2024
Thugs and rioters will never win.
They’ll never be allowed to define Sunderland.
Love and pride will always shine through. That’s Sunderland.
Thank you to @northumbriapol for standing between communities…
“Those grieving in Southport will take no comfort from this... We believe that the community here in Southport, and the country as a whole, must now come together to challenge hatred based on people’s identities. In particular, the rising levels of Islamophobia must not be allowed to fester in our society,” she added.
Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson took to X as well to say: “Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble. [Northumbria police] have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city. Tomorrow the people of Sunderland will come together and continue to build the bright future that we have – a future where every community of our city feels safe and prospers.”
I am appalled by the disorder in the centre of Sunderland tonight.
— Lewis Atkinson MP (@LewisAtkinson) August 2, 2024
Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble.@northumbriapol have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city.
Tomorrow the people…
Bus firm Go North East announced that it would suspend all of its routes beyond Sunderland overnight, with the exception of one that would end at Barnes, while Tyne and Wear Metro operator Nexus claimed that it was instructed by police to close Sunderland Rail Station at around 10.15 pm.
We are aware of ongoing disorder in #Sunderland city centre.
— Northumbria Police (@northumbriapol) August 2, 2024
We advise members of the public to avoid the area while officers deal with the situation.
Further updates will follow. pic.twitter.com/jV2j5x0akv
Omniplex Sunderland, a movie theater in the city, was also compelled to close "in the interest of public and staff safety."
Bridget Phillipson, the education minister and MP for Sunderland, called the riots in the city "unforgivable violence".
“The scenes in our city centre tonight are shocking. We have seen unforgivable violence and thuggery,” she said, adding, “Sunderland is better than this and these thugs do not represent our city.”
Anti-fascist groups in Liverpool outnumbered the far right by a large margin. Early in the evening, there were a few minor altercations that were easily resolved by police, and by 9 pm, there were just a few far-right protesters left, standing beneath trees across the street from the Abdullah Quilliam Society Mosque and attempting to avoid getting rained on.
A group of men wearing balaclavas who were standing opposite the anti-fascists told The Guardian that they had merely "come for a look" and lacked the courage to acknowledge they were far-right.
Almost 35 rallies are scheduled to occur this weekend throughout the UK "under a broad anti-multiculturalism, anti-Muslim, and anti-government agenda," according to Hope Not Hate.
They include Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster, Glasgow, Hanley, High Wycombe, Hull, Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Preston, St Helens, Stoke-on-Trent, Swindon, and Wrexham.
Violent clashes took place between far-right protesters and police in central London late Wednesday following the spread of misinformation on social media determining that the Southport knife perpetrator was a Muslim man.
The violent protests initially sparked on Tuesday in Southport after extremist far-right social media users falsely reported that the assailant in Monday's knife attack that killed three young girls and wounded multiple children at dance class was a Muslim immigrant.
“We are aware that some protesters have breached conditions on Whitehall,” the Metropolitan Police said regarding the clashes that occurred in Whitehall, adding, “Officers are at the scene and engaging with protestors."
Police later issued an update on X that over 100 protesters had been "arrested for offenses including violent disorder, assault on an emergency worker, and breach of protest conditions," which resulted in more than 50 officers receiving minor injuries.
