Far-right riots: A third of Britons support UK anti-immigrant protests, poll finds
A third of British people support the anti-immigration protests that have spiralled into violent riots in cities across the UK, according to a report by YouGov.
Seven percent of respondents said they supported the Islamophobic and racist violence that has accompanied the protests.
Protests erupted in the UK after the killing of three children in the northern English town of Southport in late July.
False rumours circulated after the killing that the perpetrator was a Muslim immigrant, misinformation that was amplified by Islamophobic influencers such as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name Tommy Robinson.
The suspect arrested for the stabbings was later revealed to be a 17-year-old British citizen of Rwandan origin.
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Despite the release of the suspected attacker's identity, mosques and later buildings believed to be housing asylum seekers were targeted by violent mobs.
Besides the riots, there have been more general protests against the authorities' apparent inability to reduce the rising number of immigrants entering the country.
According to YouGov, around six in 10 Britons said they sympathised with the protesters and eight percent said the same about the rioters.
'Total disgrace'
In the past week, rioters have attacked drivers they suspected of being Muslim, chanted racist slurs and looted businesses that often have nothing to do with Muslims or immigrants, including branches of the popular bakery chain Greggs.
The newly elected Labour government has vowed to track down and prosecute those behind the violence, and has increased police readiness for further violence by deploying specialist riot officers.
On Sunday, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that mosques would be offered greater protection.
“The targeted attacks we have seen on mosques in the last few days have been a total disgrace,” Cooper said in a video address.
“It’s part of criminal thuggery and violence that we have seen in some towns and cities that we simply cannot stand for," she added.
“We cannot tolerate extremism, racism or Islamophobia in our country.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said people involved in riots will face the "full force of the law", is holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday to coordinate the response.
The "Cobra" meeting, which is held in times of crisis, involves government ministers, police officials, civil servants and senior intelligence officers.
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