Southport is a strongly marked city. A sea of flowers, teddy bears and greetings grows ever larger in front of the city’s town hall. Similar seas can be seen in several places around the scene of Monday’s horrific knife attack. An uncle remembers his dead niece. A child honors his dead friend. People with no connection to any of the victims show that they sympathize with those affected. I love you. Your Uncle William. Forever. This is how one of the greetings reads in the town hall square in Southport. You are too precious to be forgotten, writes one of the murdered girls’ playmates in a greeting. To the three little ones. Rest in peace. This is how this floral greeting sounds. Someone is crying. But mostly it is quiet. The general soundscape in the city is a stark contrast. Because Southport is a tourist town. People from Liverpool and Manchester come here to enjoy beach life, camping, arcades and karaoke. Outdoors. With loud noise, which cannot be avoided. And the contrast to the violence that unfolded on Tuesday night is even greater. Over 50 police officers were injured, cars were set on fire and bricks were thrown in riots at the city’s mosque. Riots and demonstrations which quickly spread to London, Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot. Southport is a tourist town. People from Liverpool and Manchester come here to enjoy beach life, camping, arcades and karaoke. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news On Friday, the police all over England are on high alert in connection with the Friday prayers. There are fears that it is far from over yet. But why has this case caused violent immigration opponents to take to the streets? Who is behind the riots The police in Merseyside, which covers Southport, says the English Defense League (EDL) is probably behind the organization of the riots on Tuesday night. This is reported by the Liverpool Echo, among others. The police reason that people on the spot identified themselves as members of the anti-immigration organisation. But there were also other opponents of immigration and people the police and politicians describe as far right radicals who were behind it. Many were visitors with no connection to Southport. The EDL was formed in 2009 and was led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, until 2013. He and others claim that the EDL no longer exists. But the police think otherwise. news met Stephen Yaxley-Lennon alias Tommy Robinson while he was still the leader of the English Defense Leauge (EDL) in 2012. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news A former EDL member tells the Daily Telegraph’s Daily T podcast that he understands people’s anger now. They need to be heard in their frustration about immigration. It has grown tremendously in the UK in recent years, at the same time as people’s living standards have declined. The riots in several English cities this week occurred before the accused 17-year-old’s identity was known. The EDL defector believes that the lack of a national conversation about what immigration does to society, leads to many seeking information online, and finding lies that suit their narrative. Former EDL leader Yaxley-Lennon still has a large following. He is among those who have linked the accused 17-year-old to illegal immigration and Islam, thereby whipping up the mood. But he is far from the only one. Spread of false information On social media, the speculation ran high and the lies far. The accused 17-year-old could not be named due to his young age. All the police said was that he was born in Cardiff in Wales and that he moved to the Southport area when he was six. Eventually it emerged that the parents were from Rwanda, a country where the majority are Christians. But on the internet, people could read that he was a Muslim, that he was an illegal immigrant, one person was even wrongly named as the perpetrator. Right-wing radical groups with many followers spread the information. An account with the name European Invasion claimed that the perpetrator was a Muslim immigrant, and received close to four million reactions, according to Sky News. A sea of flowers, teddy bears and greetings in the town hall square in Southport. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news They also write that a network of anonymous accounts on TikTok has encouraged people to participate in riots. These pretend to belong to people locally. Famous influencers also helped these lies gain a large audience. Andrew Tate called the boy behind the knife murders “an undocumented migrant”, and called for demonstrations against the police. They came. Elected politician Nigel Farage from the Reform UK party threw himself into it. The party is known to be critical of immigration, and is accused of racism. On the program he hosts on GB News, he said he felt information was being withheld. A former counter-terrorism police chief accused him of inciting violence, according to The Guardian. Nigel Farage was elected to the British House of Commons for the first time in July. Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP Farage says he does not in any way support violence and rowdy behaviour. But he is a politician the EDL defector says frustrated people are listening to. He is able to understand where the shoe presses. The party received 14 percent support during the election in July. Over four million Britons voted for the party. What are the authorities doing? On Thursday, Manchester Crown Court decided to make public the identity of the accused, despite the fact that he is under 18 years of age. It is unusual, and the reason was, among other things, to avoid unnecessary speculation. Now people who knew Axel Muganwa Rudakubana can say that he was a quiet boy from a family who were churchgoers. But the motive for the atrocities remains a mystery. The Prime Minister condemns the violence. He creates a special unit in the police to prevent and crack down on the organization of violent riots. When the organization is national, the reaction must also be, he believes. Regional police units do not hold. Now it’s the weekend. England steels itself for new riots and more noise. Published 02.08.2024, at 19.38
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This is how false information set right-wing protesters on fire – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
