LGBTQ+ organisations among those urging government to address UK riots

LGBTQ+ organisations are among 80 not-for-profit groups urging the government to address the far-right riots raging across the UK.

In an open letter sent to Keir Starmer on Monday (5 August), they called on the prime minister to address the “ongoing violence against people of colour”, which was labelled contemptuous.

“It is clear that this eruption of racism has long been simmering under the surface,” the letter read. “What is happening is the direct result of years of normalised racism and Islamophobia.”

Widespread far-right riots broke out the country earlier this month, following the stabbing of three young girls in Southport, Merseyside.

A section of the seaside town was left devastated after xenophobic and anti-immigration groups targeted a Southport mosque on 30 July.

Several subsequent riots took place in Blackpool, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Bolton, Liverpool and Sunderland, with several rioters targeting immigration detention centres.

In the open letter, headed by Amnesty International and the Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees, the organisations expressed their concern about how sections of the media and government had reacted to the violence.

They accused certain figureheads of using the disturbances “as an opportunity to entertain debates about “legitimate grievances”, “integration” and “immigration”.

The letter went on to say: “Muslim communities and people of colour should never have to justify their level of integration in order to claim basic protection from criminal acts, and it is incredulous that we should have those debates in the midst of this unprovoked and sustained violence.

“To blame victims of this violence is an insult to people of colour across the country.”

‘We’re doing everything we can’, Keir Starmer says

The signatories condemned the Islamophobia and racism prevalent across the country, saying it represented the “rot that has become normalised as part of politics”, adding: “The new Labour government must take this opportunity to reset the direction of travel and foster zero tolerance for far-right, racist and anti-migrant narratives.”

The organisations signing the letter included Rainbow Migration, a charity dedicated to LGBTQ+ equality for queer migrants, along with campaign and advocacy groups the Equality Act Review, Hope not Hate and the Migrants’ Rights Network.

Starmer has said that the criminal justice system has shown a “robust and swift response” and ensured communities that they will be safe.

“We’re doing everything we can to ensure that where a police response is needed, it’s in place, where support is needed for particular places, that that is in place,” he said after a meeting of the emergency response committee, Cobra, on Tuesday (6 August).

“That should send a very powerful message to anybody involved, either directly or online, that you are likely to be dealt with within a week and that nobody, but nobody, should be involving themselves in this disorder.”

Almost 6,000 police officers are reportedly mobilised to prepare for potential riots across England, according to various sources, while more than 400 arrests have been made and about 100 people have been charged so far.

Earlier today (7 August), Derek Drummond, 58, from Southport, was jailed for three years after admitting violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker on July 30. He had handed himself into the police.

Lionel Greig, defending Drummond, said his client had lost his job as a result of his arrest and had told police officers: “I’m absolutely ashamed by the way I’ve acted. I’ve let Southport down, I’ve let the kids down, I’ve let myself down. I’m not here to deny anything,” according to The Guardian.

Passing sentence, judge Andrew Menary said: “I cannot be sure you were an instigator but it is clear you were on the frontline encouraging others. You participated willingly and enthusiastically. There are a number of serious aggravating factors,” The Mirror reported.

“You were an active part of the crowd, some elements of which were using racist language. That indicates the motivation of the crowd of which you were a part. You were demonstrating outside a mosque that was badly damaged. You used significant violence towards an officer. You picked up a brick, even if you didn’t throw it.

“This was not mindless thuggery. You and every other defendant I am dealing with today made a choice to get involved.”