Britain is reeling from the latest wave of interethnic violence. Protests have been triggered by the tragedy in Southport, where a 17-year-old teen of Rwandan origin stabbed to death three girls – aged 6, 7 and 9 – at a dance and yoga session on July 29. Eight children and two adults received injuries. The motives for the attack remain unclear.
During ensuing protests involving everyone from football fans to activists of the right-wing English Defence League (EDL), a local mosque was attacked in Southport. On Friday, Northumbria Police had three of their officers injured as police premises were ransacked, a building and a car were set on fire, and bricks were lobbed at riot police. Other locations, including London, Hartlepool, Manchester, and Aldershot have also witnessed violent protests. Flares were lit near British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s residence on Downing Street in central London on Wednesday evening, with crowds chanting “We want our country back.”
A Liverpool FC scarf is placed next to floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack in Southport, northwest England, on July 31, 2024.
© AFP 2023 / PETER POWELL
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who inherited the illegal immigration problem and small boats crisis from the previous government, attempted to brush off the unrest as a one-timer triggered by the Southport attack. Proffered clarifications that the perpetrator was not an immigrant have made little headway, as the unrest fits a distinct pattern.
Smoke billows from a fire started by protesters as riot police stand guard after disturbances near the Southport Islamic Society Mosque in Southport, northwest England, on July 30, 2024, a day after a deadly child knife attack.
© AFP 2023 / ROLAND LLOYD PARRY
On July 17, a Jordanian asylum seeker who assaulted a female police officer dodged doing community service because he cannot speak English and it could be “against health and safety rules.”
Clampdown on student riots in Bangladesh over job quotas spilled into the streets of London’s Whitechapel on July 19. The district - home to a large ethnic Bangladeshi population – was overrun by protesters.
On July 26, an Asian man assaulted several police officers at Manchester Airport, prompting a harsh response. But this beginning of the story surfaced later, while first, a viral video clip showed a police officer stomp on the Asian man. Local Labour MPs sided with the arrested, bewailing police brutality, and the town of Rochdale was flooded by angry protests. It was later revealed that there was more to the incident than initially met the eye.
On July 30, a homeless Kurdish migrant pushed a man onto Tube tracks simply because three women had made him angry by laughing at him.
Overall, besides the knot of unresolved issues that the migrant crisis presents, facts and figures paint a bleak picture of crime in the UK.
Crime is skyrocketing in the UK, with the number of stabbings soaring to 50,000 a year, as per official stats;
Knife crime claimed 247 lives in 2023;
Just 6% of all reported crimes resulted in a suspect being charged;
Met Police failed to solve a single neighborhood crime in 166 areas of London in three years;
And if that were not enough, Labor is planning to release early from the UK’s overcrowded prisons about 10 thousand inmates who were sentenced to terms of up to 5 years. What could go wrong?
Meanwhile, UK police are gearing up to face more protests planned for the week ahead.