Almost 6,000 officers have been mobilised after a terrifying hitlist showed far-right thugs are set to target immigration centres, refugee shelters and lawyers’ homes today – as more race riots are set to spark chaos across the country.
Vile messages from inside Telegram channels fueling the violence show the yobs threatening the lives of anti-racism activists and using sick slurs.
And comments from the messages show plans to unleash further disorder across Britain this evening – with as many as 38 destinations making up a ‘target list’.
More than 100 people have so far been charged over Britain’s week of riots, after violence spread across the country following misinformation in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The Director of Public Prosecutions has confirmed at least one of these is being looked at under terrorism legislation.
Towns and cities across England – from Aldershot to Wigan – have been named as places for demonstrations, with organisers saying ‘they won’t stop coming until you tell them…’.
One message – posted to the group’s 15,000 members – said: ‘The n*****s will try to abuse the unrest to steal. It’s in their blood to doo so.’
Another called for the death of Nick Lowles, the founder of anti-extremism charity Hope Not Hate. The horrific call-out said: ‘If anyone wants to go down in a blaze of glory, take this man with you.
‘Death to Nick Lowles. Any man who takes his life will be a hero to the cause.’ One extremely disturbing reply read: ‘How can I do it I’m game.’
Mr Lowles responded to the threats this afternoon, calling the man involved ‘serious and dangerous’.
And a further post told would-be rioters to wear masks, hoodies and leave their phones at home, underneath a photo of a young man in a balaclava and the tagline ‘white n radical’.
Nearly 6,000 public order officers have now been mobilised to respond to riots over this week, police sources have told the BBC.
Towns and cities across England – from Aldershot to Wigan – have been named as destinations for demonstrations, with organisers saying ‘they won’t stop coming until you tell them…’
One vile message – posted to the group’s 15,000 members – said: ‘The n*****s will try to abuse the unrest to steal. It’s in their blood to doo so’
Another called for the death of Nick Lowles, the founder of anti-extremism charity Hope Not Hate
Another told would-be rioters to wear masks, hoodies and leave their phones at home underneath a photo of a young man in a balaclava and the tagline ‘white n radical’
Nearly 6,000 public order officers have now been mobilised to respond to riots over this week, police sources have told the BBC. Pictured: Police officers clash with protesters during the ‘Enough is Enough’ protest in Whitehall, London
A riot police officer is injured during the clashes with far-right protester outside Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham
Riot police officers push back anti-migration protesters outside the Holiday Inn Express Hotel which is housing asylum seekers
Police officers face protesters outside the Liver Building in Liverpool on August 3, 2024 during the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration
Police officers with people attending the ‘Enough is Enough’ protest in Whitehall, London
They have said that the situation is ‘manageable’ – adding that they hope Britain is now ‘through the worst’ of the chaos, although they are ready if it escalates again.
Violent riots have already exploded across several cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Plymouth and Birmingham following the Southport knife rampage which claimed the lives of three young girls and left many others injured.
False speculation online that the teenage suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a boat has fuelled the unrest which started outside a mosque in Southport and has since spread across the UK.
The misinformation is believed to have originated from a Russian-linked fake news website.
Right-wing groups have organised dozens of protests from Liverpool to Hull and Middlesbrough to Plymouth – with many filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric. Riots have seen hotels housing migrants set on fire and police attacked with bricks or glass bottles.
More than 400 people have now been arrested and Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has said the thugs could face terrorism charges as the legal system fights to bring offenders to justice.
The CPS chief hit out at those who had used the internet for the ‘purposes of incitement and planning’, telling the BBC: ‘If you’re engaged in that activity, then you can be prosecuted for the substantive offence that you have caused (due) to what you’ve been doing using the internet.’
And in a warning to those acting outside the UK, Mr Parkinson said: ‘Some people are abroad. That doesn’t mean they’re safe.
Anti-migration protesters attempt to enter the Holiday Inn Express Hotel which is housing asylum seekers on August 4
As many as 38 areas including immigration centres and lawyers’ homes have made up a ‘target list’ created by far-right mobs
Mounted police move in as violence breaks out in Manchester on Saturday, August 3
Riot police are confronted by Far-right activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02
Police officers kettle protestors during the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration on Whitehall, outside the entrance to 10 Downing Street in central London
‘We have liaison prosecutors spread around the globe who’ve got local links with the local judiciary and law enforcement, but also the police are also stationed abroad.’
In measures reminiscent of the 2011 London riots, magistrates courts are operating round the clock to process rioters and releasing mugshots of some suspects after they have been charged in an effort to name and shame them.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – who was himself Director of Public Prosecutions between 2008 and 2013 – said the criminal justice system has shown a ‘robust and swift response’ in the face of ongoing unrest.
A supposed ‘target list’ of 38 areas where further riots are planned for Wednesday was yesterday leaked on social media. A police source told The Mirror it was treating the list as a ‘credible threat’.
‘It’s being watched closely and we are ready to respond,’ they said. ‘We have got thousands of extra officers and where there’s credible, specific intelligence, officers will be put in place and will be ready to respond immediately.’
They added: ‘Wednesday is going to be a busy day. We are assessing what is credible and what isn’t but we have a lot more resources stood-up now than we did at the weekend.
‘Some is planned but also a lot is sporadic in terms of local people seeing stuff online and turning up out of the blue. It’s quite a nuanced picture.’
A message on encrypted platform Telegram shows that 38 towns and cities could be braced for more violence.
Serious violence and rioting by far-right protesters continues in side streets into the evening
A member of the community offers snacks to police officers on the front line in Middlesbrough
Residents offer food and snacks to police on the front line in Middlesbrough this evening
Protesters try to cram into the migrant hotel through a damaged fire exit in Rotherham
A man looks out of The Holiday Inn hotel in Rotherham as counter demonstrators stand outside with signs saying ‘refugees welcome’
A bin on fire outside the Holiday Inn Migrant hotel in Rotherham
Five of the organisations on the list told the Financial Times they were planning to shut tomorrow and urged employees to work from home.
The list includes locations such as Aldershot, Canterbury, Bedford, Birmingham and Derby.
The list, which was reposted on social media, came with a threatening caption above it which reads: ‘THEY WON’T STOP COMING UNTIL YOU TELL THEM…
‘NO MORE IMMIGRATION. 8PM. MASK UP.’
It added: ‘SPREAD THIS AS FAR AND WIDE AS YOU CAN.’
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said anyone wearing a mask to a riot would be prosecuted.
‘It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re protesting — if you turn up in a mask, with a weapon, intent on causing disorder, you will face the full force of the law,’ she wrote on X.
Counter-terror officers and detectives from regional crime units are also involved in targeting far right ringleaders of the chaos and violence which has swept Britain.
Today – in a show of hope – locals turned out to help chase off youths who had been targeting a local store
As many as thirty stood outside the shop in a show of unity as the threat of far-right action continued in the Northern Irish city
Police officers protect themselves from bricks thrown by protesters during the ‘Enough is Enough’ outside the Liver Building in Liverpool on August 3
Riot police are confronted by Far-right activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02
Police in riot gear react to a hostile crowd as Far-right activists hold an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to take ‘all necessary action’ to end the far-right riots.
The Prime Minister told Cabinet today that ‘people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities, and we will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end’.
Among the stories of Brits being targeted by far-right thugs was the owner of a Middle Easter supermarket in Belfast, whose shop was ‘singled out’ by young yobs, as a boy and the shop behind him was pelted with eggs.
It allegedly came after the youths tried to steal from the store but were challenged by staff, as the Police Service of Norther Ireland are investigating it as a hate crime.
It came after another supermarket, owned by a Syrian man, was torched after rioters targeted it twice.
Owner Ali Moustafa Wartty said that police had confirmed his had been the only shop targeted, in incidents that date back to the start of the year.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: ‘They have been singling us out.
‘Police said they cannot do anything – it’s very difficult for me, I have a number of businesses in Belfast and I will have to move them.
‘I’m very disappointed in Belfast.’
But today – in a show of hope – locals turned out to help chase off the youths and support the local store.
As many as thirty stood outside the shop in a show of unity as the threat of far-right action continued in the Northern Irish city.
