Violent clashes erupt at Anti-Immigration Protest outside UK Asylum Seeker Hotel
Date
2/12/2023 4:35:51 AM
(MENAFN) On Saturday, the UK Police reported that they had arrested fifteen individuals, including a child, following an anti-immigration protest outside a hotel that was housing asylum seekers near Liverpool. The protest, which was fueled by "rumors and misinformation" on social media, turned violent, with participants throwing lit fireworks at officers and assaulting a police van with hammers before setting it on fire. One officer and two members of the public sustained minor injuries.
Initially, Merseyside Police reported that three individuals had been arrested, but the number increased as the investigation progressed. The individuals who were apprehended ranged in age from 13 to 54 years, and two of them were women. The police said that they were examining footage to identify other participants.
Asylum seeker advocacy groups have accused the protesters of being affiliated with far-right groups, although it was not clear who was behind the violence. The protest was described as a far-right demonstration by a pensioner's association, whose activists held placards that said "Refugees welcome." The protesters chanted slogans like "Get them out," while activists supporting the asylum seekers voiced their solidarity.
The Home Office has been using the hotel to momentarily house asylum seekers since last year, according to local media. The protest coincided with record numbers of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, prompting the Conservative government to propose sending such asylum seekers to Rwanda. Interior Minister Suella Braverman condemned the "appalling disorder" in a tweet, adding that the "alleged behavior of some asylum seekers is never an excuse for violence and intimidation."
The violence broke out when a group of troublemakers invaded a planned protest by another group, with the intention of "carrying out violent and despicable behavior," according to the police. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the police have urged witnesses to come forward.
Hope Not Hate, a group that campaigns against racism, said that the protest took place "in a context of swelling anti-migrant hatred." White nationalist group Patriotic Alternative denied organizing the protest after holding a demonstration outside the hotel last week and distributing leaflets locally. However, one of its campaigners posted a video showing he was at the scene on Friday.
Chantelle Lunt, chair of the Merseyside Alliance for Racial Equality, tweeted that the protest took place in one of the "poorest areas in the UK" where far-right activist Tommy Robinson campaigned in 2019. The police have also reported that a man in his 20s was arrested last week after reports of "inappropriate advances" were made towards a 15-year-old girl in the Knowsley area, where the protest occurred. The man was released without charge, and the investigation is ongoing.
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