LAST UPDATE | 3 Aug 2024

MPS ACROSS THE UK’s political spectrum have condemned the far-right after a third night of violence in England, amid fears of further unrest over the weekend.

Sunderland Central Labour MP Lewis Atkinson said a link could be drawn between the disorder in his constituency yesterday and the ashes of the English Defence League (EDL), which was founded by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon.

The EDL has disbanded but its supporters remain active, and Atkinson said evidence suggested a Nazi offshoot of the group was involved in the violence in his constituency on Friday night which saw a police station torched and a local mosque attacked.

Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said “elements of the far right” appear to be involved in the rioting while fellow contender Priti Patel rebuked the “thuggery” and said MPs should unite in condemnation.

Atkinson said he was “really sad” for Sunderland after a group of “racists” descended on the city on Friday evening and attacked police officers, setting a police station and two cars on fire, and targeting a mosque.

He added: “A night of idiots will not prevent us from building.”

Social media organising

Asked how the disorder had happened, Atkinson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that protests had been suggested by people in a number of social media groups in the wake of the Southport stabbings.

“The far right, for example Stephen Yaxley Lennon, picked up on those and started promoting those and encouraging known far right individuals to join,” he said.

Asked whether a link could be drawn with the EDL, he said: “I can draw a link because last night one of the flags on the street bore the reference to the North East Infidels, which is a Nazi, EDL offshoot from the North East chapter of what was the EDL.”

Individuals who were involved with the EDL are “still out there” and need to be kept under surveillance, he said.

Sunderland Arrests

Eight people have been arrested and three police officers taken to hospital following rioting in Sunderland city centre.

It comes after rioters battled police following a planned protest linked to the Southport knife attack.

Northumbria Police Chief Superintendent Helena Barron said in a statement that three officers were taken to hospital for treatment to injuries.

One has since been discharged with the other two remaining in hospital for further treatment.

“Anyone involved in the disorder we have seen can expect to be dealt with robustly – and that action has already begun,” Barron said.

“Eight people have so far been arrested for a range of offences, including violent disorder and burglary.”

She said a “full investigation” is now under way to identify anyone else responsible.

Keel Square

Hundreds of people gathered in Keel Square, many of them draped in England flags.

Members of the crowd chanted in support of Tommy Robinson, a convicted criminal and one of the UK’s most prominent far-right activists.

Others shouted insults about Islam.

Mounted police followed the march, along with officers in vans who battled their way through traffic to keep up.

However, some protesters descended into violence, setting an overturned car on fire, while others targeted a mosque.

On Thursday, in Hartlepool, about 40km south of Sunderland, seven men were charged after violent disorder broke out.

People draped themselves in British and English flags Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Police in protective gear came under sustained attack as rioters set off fire extinguishers on them on High West Street.

There was also a standoff between police and protesters outside a mosque on Sunderland’s St Mark’s Road.

Police in riot gear came under attack with stones and beer cans thrown.

It is understood that a police station has been set on fire.

Police try to get through crowds in Sunderland Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Some protesters argued about “two-tier policing” as the police threw a protective ring around the mosque.

Mounted police pushed back demonstrators, some of whom were in masks.

Meanwhile, customers in the next door Aldi filmed the scenes on their phones through the shop window.

A police officer deployed to keep order in Sunderland commented: “That was bad tonight.

“I feel really bad for the council, they’ve spent all this money doing up the new square for this to happen.”

UK interior minister Yvette Cooper vowed rioters “will pay the price for their violence and thuggery” after renewed disturbances following a mass stabbing earlier this week that killed three young girls.

“The police have the full backing of government to take the strongest possible action & ensure they face the full force of the law,” Cooper said amid disorder in Sunderland, northeast England.

“They do not represent Britain,” she added.

I am appalled by the disorder in the centre of Sunderland tonight.

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…

— Lewis Atkinson MP (@LewisAtkinson) August 2, 2024