By: Ivan Wang

Last Wednesday, thousands of people in England banded together in order to protest against anti-immigration demonstrations. These protests were held in places such as Bristol, London Liverpool, and Newcastle. The majority of these anti-racism protests were peaceful, however there were a few instances of disorder and violent acts in some of the protests.

Law enforcement says that these anti-racism protests were much more peaceful and less violent than the anti-racism destinations that prompted people to start the anti-racism protests in the first place.

Mark Rowley, the head of the Met Police says that the policing operation surrounding these protests that happened on Wednesday was successful and that, “We put thousands of officers on the street and I think the show of force from the police and frankly the show of unity from communities, together defeated the challenges.”

The anti-immigration protests that caused a chain reaction that led to these anti-racism protests across England are said to be organized by far-rights groups. These groups have extreme views that are linked to race and national identity. However, it’s important to note that not everyone attending the protests is a part of these groups. Some people were simply tricked into thinking that there was illegal immigration happening by the spread of misinformation on social media.

The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, says that he will make sure communities will not be affected by these protests prior to last Wednesday. Along with this statement he also says that people participating in the anti-immigration demonstrations should expect the full force of the law to be fighting against them and that whether they participated in it online or in real life, they will be deal with in less than a week

However, the government themselves and the office of communications have criticized their actions and have said that they need to stop the spread of misinformation.

Sources Used:https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cp35wpl9yx8o