Anti-racism protesters have rallied across the country following a week of far-right riots, putting on an inspiring display of unity.
Police were braced for widespread violence last night.Shops were boarded up and immigration centres closed after rumours spread on social media the disorder first seen in Southport would spread even further across the country.
But only a handful of arrests were reported as peaceful protesters turned up in their thousands to defend their communities and put an end to rampant violence.
In Brighton a samba band played for the crowd and a team of drag queens were positioned outside the station, ready to welcome any rioters.
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Later in the evening, a small group found themselves surrounded by thousands of counter protesters and forced to shelter against a building.
Dozens of police officers had to push through anti-racist demonstrators to allow the small number of far-right protesters to escape the crowd.
In London, hundreds gathered in Walthamstow, where chants of ‘whose streets? our streets!’ and ‘free Palestine’ could be heard.
Many people held signs reading ‘refugees welcome’, ‘no space for racism, end fascism’ and ‘strength in diversity’.
Metro.co.uk reporter Gergana Krasteva was reporting from the counter-protest. She said: ‘Turning up in Walthamstow yesterday, I was relieved to witness the mass turnout at the protest against the far-right.
‘In just a few hours, the crowd grew from a few dozen people to several thousand, stretching across the length of Hoe Street. People had abandoned whatever plans they had to make sure they were there.
‘By the end, it was a celebration of the diversity and strength in the community, showing that racism has no place in Walthamstow.’
In Brentford, around 200 counter-protestors crowded on the corner of a busy junction in the shadow of GlaxoSmithKline HQ.
Cars honked as people chanted ‘we are black, we are white, together we are dynamite’.
Metro.co.uk’s Danny Rigg, who was on the ground in Brentford, said: ‘The overwhelming presence of counter-protesters was a nice change from the scenes of violence we’ve seen over the last week or so.
‘As we gradually realised the far-right weren’t showing up – or had but weren’t making themselves known – it started to become clear we might be in the midst of the tide turning against the racist violence.
‘People went there scared and left empowered.’
Meanwhile, in Liverpool, which had seen some of the worst violence in the past week, hundreds of people gathered outside an asylum services office in a show of support for refugees and migrants.
Chants of ‘whose streets, our streets’, ‘free Palestine’, and ‘refugees are welcome here’ easily drowned out the few far-right agitators who turned up.
Reporter Tom Sanders witnessed the enormous counter protest from the ground.
‘Within an hour of the planned start time, every road, street and alleyway became flooded with a torrent of protesters as wave after wave of people poured in,’ he said.
‘Perhaps fearing the worst, it seemed like every disparate group – Trade Unionists, Anti-Facists, local Muslim groups and kids from the nearby estate – had all decided to form their own separate protests, and were all equally as surprised as each other to see such a commanding show of force.
‘By the time all had arrived, the crowd had swelled to well over 1000, and it was clear there was no room for the far-right even at the furthest fringes of the gathering.
‘With no opponent in sight, a wave of relief swept through the crowd, and the remainder of the night resembled something more akin to a street party than a demonstration.
‘Songs were sung, food was shared, connections were made and for one joyous evening, love trumped hate and the community felt truly united.’
In total, more than 40 ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstrations had been planned for yesterday evening, but the huge crowds of anti-fascists coming out in support of Asian, Muslim and immigrant communities kept rioters at bay.
The evening wasn’t without incident – three arrests were made in Northampton and eight in Croydon – but Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said he was ‘pleased’ with how the night went.
‘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 that we’ve seen,’ he said.
He added: ‘A couple of locations we had some local criminals turn out and try and create a bit of anti-social behaviour and we arrested a few of them.
‘But it was a very successful night and the fears of extreme-right disorder were abated. A successful operation thanks to communities and police.’
Meanwhile, Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson told the BBC: ‘I think what last night illustrated was the vast majority of people in this country are law-abiding, are tolerant, respect the police, want their communities to be ones that are safe for all communities.
‘I think that that was demonstrated last night by some of what we saw on the streets with those people who came forward to make their views clear.’
