- More protests planned over Southport stabbings
- Local mosques to take safety precautions after far-right backlash against Islam and Muslims
- Counter-protests are being organised across the country to combat misinformation and far-right rhetoric
- Farage calls for urgent and stronger action to be taken to combat ‘societal decline’
A 17-year-old has been charged with the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder after eight other children and two adults were seriously wounded in his attack on 29th August 2024.
Following pressure from media due to the serious nature of the crime, Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC felt it necessary to name the Cardiff-born attacker – which was previously impossible due to his age – as it was in the public’s interest to know and to ‘prevent misinformation’.
The Southport murders sparked violent scenes across the town with five arrests, a police van being set alight and a local mosque being vandalised. Copycat riots occurred across England, with over 100 arrests being made on 31st August in London.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said “action will be taken” following the “violent disorder“.
He added: “These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community, and we must have a police response that can do the same.“
Not even tragedy can escape politics
It is undeniable that this situation is a tragedy. Three innocent children murdered in cold blood, with their lives ahead of them. One can only imagine the pain, grief and sorrow that the parents of the three girls must be experiencing. It takes a certain kind of character to be willing to take the life of a child, let alone three.
It is understandable that people are in desperate need for some sort of justice. There is a growing sense of anger amongst Britain’s citizens, and rightfully so.
Unfortunately, with that anger comes agendas from all sides of the political spectrum, with all of them trying to prove that they are right. In some cases, the victims of the crimes are actually forgotten and simply become a means to an end; that is, to use their tragedy as proof that either political side uses to further their narratives. Both are wrong, in this case.
To a certain degree, the right have scored a massive own goal. Within 24 hours of the incident, on social media, incorrect claims were made that the killer was called “Ali Al-Shakati” who had arrived in the UK illegally on a boat last year and was a Muslim, which led to a local mosque being vandalised.
Chants of “f*** Muslims, f*** Allah” were heard and many rioters attacked the police directly.
Far-right English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson posted to his X page, “There’s more evidence to suggest Islam is a mental health issue rather than a religion of peace….They’re replacing the British nation with hostile, violent, aggressive migrants … Your children don’t matter to [the Labour government].”
The police say that the perpetrator was in fact born in Cardiff, Wales, and does not practice Islam religiously.
This has sparked a national conversation about xenophobia, Islamophobia and how the spread of online misinformation has real-world consequences. It has also given further ammunition to those who believe social media companies have a responsibility to prevent misinformation to be spread online (especially X, formerly Twitter).
This will certainly hurt the cause of the ever-growing negative sentiment towards immigration in the UK, both legal and illegal, which is welcome to the left. Unfortunately, they are also partly wrong.
In this particular case, the right – specifically the far right – got it wrong. Their preconceived biases against Islam and migration led them to spread false and inaccurate information, without which their narrative would crumble.
However, to suggest that this incident wholly represents those who have legitimate concerns about rising levels of immigration to the UK – which is what certain figures on the left are attempting to do – is a misnomer. The two situations are not mutually exclusive.
It is possible to believe that the current levels of migration are unsustainable whilst also condemning xenophobia, violence and civil unrest. The majority of the people who expressed anger were normal, law-abiding citizens – it is simply unfortunate that the far right capitalised on the anger to spread their rhetoric.
To suggest that this situation is wholly representative of the immigration debate is to label anyone concerned about it as a far right, violent, bigoted hooligan with no respect for law enforcement.
Not only is this false, but it also damages relations with those on the conservative side of the debate, ironically pushing them towards actual far right rhetoric that the left claims to be against.
What now?
Protests have continued to happen across the country.
The Muslim Council of Britain predicts and expects riots to happen in Liverpool, Glasgow, Lancaster, Blackburn, Newcastle, Birmingham, Sunderland, Dover, Middlesbrough, Leeds and Hull.
On Friday 2nd August, in Sunderland, protesters were seen vandalising an Uber driver’s car, whilst some were openly spotted with Nazi tattoos. Riot police and K-9 dogs were deployed.
The Prime Minister has promised a ‘tough response’ to the disorder on the streets whilst calling for his National Violent Disorder Program to be used, which gives police extra powers and the ability to use highly controversial facial recognition technology.
