9 Essential Questions The UK Has To Answer Over This Far-Right Violence

The far-rightviolence which has swept across the UK in the last week is raising a series of difficult questions for the government – and Brits in general.

The death of three girls in the Southport stabbings triggered a slew of social media misinformation to appear in extremists circles about the suspect’s identity.

This led to a series of ill-informed riots against migrants and particularly the Muslim community, who are “terrified”.

With more violence expected on Wednesday, the topic has become a major source of controversy and concern.

Here’s a look at the most pressing questions this sudden unrest has raised.

1. Should the riots be called domestic terrorism?

As the violence escalates, there have been calls for officials to call the unrest “domestic terrorism”.

The Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS) describes terrorism as the use or threat of one or more of these actions below:

• serious violence against a person;
• serious damage to property;
• endangering a person’s life (other than that of the person committing the action);
• creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public; and
• action designed to seriously interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system.

If these are “terrorist” acts, they are intended to influence the government or an international governmental organisation, or intimidate the public.

It is also meant to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.

The CPS notes there has been a rise in extreme right-wing terrorism recently in the UK, as individuals promote “messages of hate-filled prejudice” to encourage “radicalisation”.

Ex-police chief Neil Basu, the former head of UK counter-terrorism, said on Monday that the riots should be described as terrorism.

“Trying to set ablaze a building with people inside, whom you have made clear you detest, is an act of violence against people and property with a racial cause designed to intimidate a section of the public – be it Muslims or asylum seekers,” he said.

“Not only does it fit the definition of terrorism, it is terrorism. It’s nothing short of an attempt at a modern-day lynching and the people who did it should be facing life imprisonment, not a five-year sentence for violent disorder.”

But a spokesperson for counter-terrorism policing told The Guardian these acts of violence do not necessarily meet the definition, even if fuelled by hate.

So far, the government has only called it “far-right hatred” and condemned the acts of “thuggery”.

Deputy PM Angela Rayner suggested that far-right group the English Defence League, believed to have played a part in some riots, could be proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

However, that group has mostly disintegrated over the years, so it’s not clear how much of an impact that would have.

2. Why is there division over calling the riots Islamophobic?

MPs on the left, including independent Zarah Sultana, have urged the government to make Islamophobia a crime in the wake of the riots, where mosques have been targeted.

Sultana argued with GMB hosts on Monday that there is a “direct correlation” between the language politicians have used in recent years and the language now being used by the mobs.

The Muslim Council of Britain has also called for the British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia to be adopted into law.

MPs on the right have argued against such a move. Sir Christopher Chope, a Tory MP, said: “I think to subdivide different types of rioting, depending upon the aim of the rioters, is ridiculous. We should treat all rioters equally.” 

Deputy leader of Reform UK Richard Tice said making Islamophobia a crime would mean making “criticism or abuse or concern of Christianity a crime” too.

3. What is two-tier policing, and is it really a problem?

Complaints the police treat white people more severely than Black and Brown people – even when they are all breaking the law – have soared recently.

The claim stems from those on the right, such as Reform Party leader Nigel Farage, and has been around for some years.

Now far-right extremists are being arrested en masse for violence, the allegation has returned.

It is reportedly part of a wider conspiracy to cast white people as the oppressed.

The government and the Met Police chief have repeatedly shut down such accusations, with PM Keir Starmer calling it a “non-issue”.

Devon Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, also said the phrase was being used to “incite hate” online and it would not be tolerated.

4. Should we be worried about police shortages?

While the government and police chiefs have promised rioters will be met with the “full force of the law”, there are concerns the UK actually does not have enough officers to deal with the crisis.

The far-right are also particularly difficult to manage, according to officials.

Devon Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, said that there was a lack of transparency between the organisers and the police, as it’s not clear who is the leader and the group does not liaise with the local officers.

“That’s what all peaceful protesters do, and we would really respect if they followed the rules around that,” Hernandez said while speaking to the BBC.

Starmer announced a “standing army” of 6,000 specialist police officers will be put together to address the riots on Monday, but there are currently no plans to get the Army involved.

Nearly 400 people have already been arrested since the unrest began last week.

Devon and Cornwall Police also promised on Monday that the force was “fully resourced at this time with a strong police presence”.

5. Does our justice system have capacity to deal with these arrests?

The UK justice system was already facing a serious strain when Labour first got into office, with prisons weeks away from max capacity. 

The government decided to release some offenders slightly early to ease the pressure.

But there’s already a new  risk cells could be filled up again with far-right extremists.

The Ministry of Justice also said it will create 500 more places in prisons over the next month.

Former head of UK counter-terrorism, Neil Basu, downplayed that worry, saying: “We overestimate the intelligence of thugs. They don’t think about the consequences of their actions until it’s too late, but jail a few and the others will run back under cover. They are bullies and cowards.”

6. Will social media companies face any consequence? 

The riots were galvanised by social media misinformation about the suspect at the centre of the Southport stabbings.

Far-right accounts claimed the suspect was an asylum seeker, and on MI6′s watch list. Neither allegation was true.

Starmer vowed to crack down on social media companies for not policing their platforms, saying it was a crime to let such hatred grow.

“It’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere,” he said.

X boss Elon Musk then waded into the conversation around the riots, saying “civil war is inevitable” in the UK now, which sparked the No.10 spokesperson to say there is “no justification” for such comments.

The government has pledged to “stop the spread of hateful information” online.

Technology secretary Peter Kyle met with TikTok, Meta, Google and X this week, and was looking at if hostile state actors accelerated any fake posts.

In the meantime, charities like Tell MAMA are calling for fines for social media companies.

Duties on social media firms are expected under the Online Safety Act but that won’t be introduced for several months.

7. Will parliament re-open to debate solutions?

The PM has so far rejected calls for parliament to end its summer recess so that MPs can debate what should happen next with this wave of violence.

Starmer said: “My focus is on making sure that we stop this disorder, that the criminal sanctions are swift and be seen to be followed.”

But that’s not the case across the whole country – the Northern Ireland Assembly was recalled to Stormont early, after a wave of far-right violence in Belfast.

MPs and 60 anti-racist and migrants’ right organisations called for parliament to  be recalled as well, “to ensure that all people and communities of colour are protected.”

8. Where did this thuggery come from?

There’s been plenty of finger-pointing over where this surge in far-right sentiment has come from.

Many are blaming the Conservatives for their anti-migrant rhetoric which they have been ramping up in recent years – former home secretary Suella Braverman once called the arrival of refugees on British shores an “invasion”.

Others blame Starmer after he “dithered and delayed” in calling an emergency COBRA meeting, according to Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick.

Former Tory chair and peer Sayeeda Warsi said: “When the government responds to this, they absolutely have to be brave enough to say, ‘where has this really come from? Who has been feeding this beast? Who has created the racist rhetoric? Who is poisoning the public discourse?’”

Reassuringly, these thuggish beliefs are not too pervasive within British society. 

A YouGov poll shows just 7% of Brits support the riots, 8% have sympathy for their views and only 12% think they’re justified.

9. What happens next?

More riots are expected.

An organisation which monitoring of anti-Muslim attacks, Tell MAMA, even said it had alerted counter-terrorism police to some of the next wave of riots expected.

The “far-right threats on Telegram that seek to target immigration solicitors and refugee services” in more than 30 locations across the UK on Wednesday.

In the meantime, it remains unclear if Keir Starmer will go on his pre-planned holiday later this week.