LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned an attack Sunday on a hotel housing asylum seekers, describing it as “far-right thuggery” as more violence broke out in several towns and cities across the country in the wake of a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and many more wounded.
In a statement from 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, the prime minister vowed that the authorities will “do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice.”
“I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder, whether directly or those whipping up this action online and then running away themselves,” he said. “This is not a protest, it is organized, violent thuggery and it has no place on our streets or online.”
Starmer was speaking after another day of far-right violence, which was particularly acute in the north of England town of Rotherham where police struggled to hold back a mob of rioters who sought to break into a Holiday Inn Express hotel being used as accommodation for asylum-seekers.
Before bringing the riot under some sort of control, police officers with shields had faced a barrage of missiles, including bits of wood, chairs and fire extinguishers. A small fire in a wheelie bin was also visible while windows in the hotel were smashed.
“Right now, there are attacks happening on a hotel in Rotherham,” Starmer said. “Marauding gangs intent on law-breaking, or worse. Windows smashed. Fires set ablaze. Residents and staff in absolute fear. There is no justification — none — for taking this action.”
Far-right agitators have sought to take advantage of last week’s stabbing attack by tapping into concerns about the scale of immigration in the U.K., in particular the tens of thousands of migrants arriving in small boats from France across the English Channel.
Tensions were running high Sunday in the northeastern town of Middlesbrough, where some protesters broke free of a police guard.
One group walked through a residential area smashing the windows of houses and cars. When asked by a resident why they were breaking windows, one man replied, “Because we’re English.” Hundreds of others squared up to police with shields at the town’s cenotaph, throwing bricks, cans and pots at officers.
On Saturday, far-right activists faced off with anti-racism protesters across the U.K., with violent scenes playing out in locations from Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, to Liverpool in the northwest of England and Bristol in the west. Further arrests are likely as police scour CCTV, social media and body-worn camera footage.
Police have also warned that widespread security measures, with thousands of officers deployed, mean that other crimes may not be investigated fully.
The violence began after false rumors spread online that the suspect in the dance class stabbing attack was a Muslim and an immigrant, fueling anger among far-right supporters. Suspects under 18 are usually not named in the U.K., but Judge Andrew Menary ordered Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents, to be identified, in part to stop the spread of misinformation. Rudakubana has been charged with three counts of murder, and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Police said many of the weekend actions were organized online by shadowy far-right groups, who mobilize support with phrases like “enough is enough,” “save our kids” and “stop the boats.”
“To those who feel targeted because of the colour of your skin or your faith, I know how frightening this must be,” he said. “Other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric, so no, I won’t shy away from calling it what it is: far-right thuggery.”
Rallying cries have come from a diffuse group of social media accounts, but a key player in amplifying them is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a longtime far-right agitator who uses the name Tommy Robinson. He led the English Defense League, which Merseyside Police has linked to the violent protest in Southport on Tuesday, a day after the stabbing attack.
The group first appeared around 2009, leading a series of protests against what it described as militant Islam that often devolved into violence. Yaxley-Lennon was banned from Twitter in 2018 but allowed back after it was bought by Elon Musk and rebranded as X. He has more than 800,000 followers.
The group’s membership and impact declined after a few years, and Yaxley-Lennon, 41, has faced myriad legal issues. He has been jailed for assault, contempt of court and mortgage fraud and currently faces an arrest warrant after leaving the U.K. last week before a scheduled hearing in contempt-of-court proceedings against him.
Nigel Farage, who was elected to parliament in July for the first time as leader of Reform U.K., has also been blamed by many for encouraging — indirectly — the anti-immigration sentiment that has been evident over the past few days. While condemning the violence, he has criticized the government for blaming it on “a few far-right thugs” and saying “the far right is a reaction to fear … shared by tens of millions of people.”