Scenes of violence have been repeated in communities across the UK following the stabbing attack in Southport in which three children were killed, eight injured and two adults wounded. Groups of people, many with links to the far-right, have attacked shops, places of worship and hotels housing asylum seekers.
Liverpool, Sunderland, Sheffield and Rotherham have all been hit by riots, leaving many members of these communities feeling vulnerable and scared. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will hold an emergency response meeting on Monday 5 August after describing the protests as “far-right villainy”. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has also condemned “disgraceful scenes of violence and villainy”.
The attack in Southport on Monday 29 July claimed the lives of Bebe King, six, Elsi Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. They had been to a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. A 17-year-old boy named Axel Rudakubana has been charged with murder. For the latest Welsh news in your inbox, sign up to our newsletter
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Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, but false claims circulated before he was named, identifying another person as a suspect and claiming he had arrived in the UK on a small boat. Social media posts then began calling for people to join anti-immigration protests across the country.
As communities in Southport and further afield came together in a time of grief, scenes of rioting and attacks have shocked many. One of those who witnessed the troubles first-hand was Liverpool Echo reporter Ben Haslam, who has since shared his story of witnessing the violence in his hometown of County Road in Walton, Liverpool. He said the rioting on the road and in Southport “has no bearing on the sadness and grief that is being felt across Merseyside”.
“I have spent the past week in my hometown reporting on the devastation caused by the senseless murder of three children. The situation has been made even more dire by the riots that caused similar devastation in my community on Tuesday night,” he said.
“But as I walked along County Road this morning I felt a mixed feeling, similar to the feeling I had walking along Sussex Road on Wednesday morning. People from the community were up early and out with bin bags, brushes and a determination not to let the rest of the country be tarred with the same brush as these thugs who had been out en masse just a few hours before.”
Here’s Ben’s full account of what he saw on County Road, which he says “will stay with you” [him] forever”.
After a week that had already cast a dark cloud over Merseyside, people gathered on County Road – ostensibly to protest, although it felt as if no one knew what was for or against. Some chanted “save our children”, others shouted Islamophobic chants and still others simply cheered on violent thugs who took it upon themselves to throw rocks and fireworks at police officers.
When I arrived on County Road on Saturday night, grown men were trying to fight off officers who were simply doing their job: protecting the community from thugs. They were protecting the County Road Mosque, where far-right groups had called for people to gather earlier in the evening, and within minutes more than 15 riot police vehicles had arrived on the scene, deploying waves of police in riot gear, a sight that has become all too familiar across Merseyside and the country this week.
Those on the Merseyside Road claimed this was in reference to the brutal and devastating mass stabbing that took place in Southport on Monday, in which three children, Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Dasilva Aguiar and Bebe King, were killed while attending a Taylor Swift dance class at The Hart Space. The attack also left eight children injured and two adults in a critical condition.
But claims that this was linked to what Southport MP Patrick Hurley described as “the worst atrocity in Southport in living memory” could not be more untrue. Speaking to a man at the scene of the riots, he justified the arson of a community library and hub, the Spellow Library, and the looting of local shops by claiming “they are hiding his identity” when referring to 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana – who was this week named as the boy charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder following a successful press application.
As chaos and violence descended, the balaclava-clad thugs who unleashed terror on the streets of Merseyside threw stones and rubble at police while I saw people tearing down street signs to damage pavements and walls and collect ammunition. Communal bins were set on fire and used as roadblocks, but police rushed to confront rioters and pushed them back at every turn.
One thing that struck me, and I imagine everyone does, is the family who saw the riots as an outing. As a 4×4 vehicle drove through the area, I quickly spotted a family of four, with young children wearing black and pink balaclavas.
But as if it wasn’t already clear that the motives behind the riots were as vague as the smoke-filled air on County Road, the second target of the Spellow Library was the moment when the penny should have dropped and the participants should have felt ashamed. Using the signpost that had been ripped from the tarmac outside Home Bargains, the windows were smashed and a fire quickly started.
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As the fire grew, people became disinterested, perhaps even ashamed that it was too late to save a building that, a year after its opening, had proven to be a pillar of hope for the next generation in Walton. Shops continued to be targeted by police, who pushed rioters further and further away from the mosque that had initially been the site of a rally promoted online by far-right social media channels, though this had clearly been forgotten.
As they snaked down County Road, rioters ran away from police who were forced to use riot police to allow fire engines access to the multiple fires behind the police barricade. Local shops were attacked one by one, vapes and alcohol were stolen, for what? It was a stain on Merseyside and something I am truly ashamed to have witnessed.
I have spent the past week in my home town reporting on the devastation left by the senseless murders of three children, further fueled by the riots that brought similar devastation to my community on Tuesday night. But as I walked along County Road this morning, I felt a mixed feeling, similar to the one I felt walking along Sussex Road on Wednesday morning. People from the community were up early and headed out with bin bags, brushes and a determination not to be tarred with the same brush by the rest of the country as these thugs who had been out en masse just hours earlier.
This week has been a harrowing and distressing time for the people of Merseyside, but the scenes on County Road bear no relation to the sadness and grief felt by the people of Southport and the rest of the country. There is no excuse for the devastation and destruction that is being inflicted on the doorsteps of those who care about their communities.