Far-right riots have swept across UK after three young girls were stabbed to death in Southport. The scenes of violence have reminded many of those during the London 2011 riots.
Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Bolton are just some of the places across the UK that have been vandalised and looted in recent days.
The disorder began when a mob of agitators hijacked a vigil for Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who died in a knife attack in Southport.
Follow our live blog for all the latest updates from the far-right riots
The unrest shares parallels with the riots in August 2011, which began in London after 29-year-old Mark Duggan was shot by police in Tottenham.
A peaceful protest held by Duggan’s friends and family turned violent following rumours a 16-year-old girl had been attacked by police.
The ensuing riots caused devastation across the country and the scenes were not unlike those that have occurred in the past week.
Following the outbreak of violence in 2011, then-Prime Minister David Cameron announced that over 16,000 police officers would be deployed in London to help tackle the unrest.
This saw the numbers of police on the streets almost treble, meanwhile all Metropolitan Police leave was cancelled and Parliament was recalled to discuss the violence.
Recent days have seen riot police clash with protesters, and every force in England and Wales was on standby to tackle the violence over the weekend.
On Sunday, there were scenes of devastation in Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Bolton and other parts of the UK.
Meanwhile, Downing Street held an emergency response meeting following the violent disorder.
On the first night of the violence in 2011, Tottenham Post Office was set on fire.
Two days later, furniture store House Of Reeves, which had been in business in Croydon since 1867, was burned to the ground while onlookers ‘watched as people jumped to escape flames’.
Elsewhere, a Sony distribution centre in Enfield was burned down and a Foot Locker in Brixton was set ablaze.
Footage form the recent riots has shown cars set alight as by far-right protestors, while there are reports of a building set on fire in Sunderland.
In Belfast, a cafe and a supermarket were badly damaged by fire, following the anti-immigration protests in the city.
Police were attacked with missiles and fireworks during the 2011 riots. Following the second night of violence, on August 7, 26 police officers had been injured.
CNN reported that 186 police officers in total had been injured in the week after the riots began.
On Saturday, bricks and bottles were thrown at police attending the far-right protests in Liverpool, while officers in Stoke-on-Trent city centre came under fire from missiles.
South Yorkshire Police said at least ten officers had been injured as a result of the violence in Rotherham on Sunday. One officer was left unconscious following a head injury, with others suffering suspected broken bones.
Businesses were looted up and down the country during August 2011 as a result of the rioting.
In Tottenham, looting occurred at the nearby retail park, where shop windows were smashed, while ‘hundreds’ of people stole from a Currys in Charlton.
Ealing was also hit hard by rioters, while in the Midlands businesses in Birmingham, West Bromwich and Handsworth suffered looting. There were also unrest in Liverpool and Birkenhead, as well as Manchester.
Similarly, instances of looting have swept the country during the recent riots.
In Hull, high street retailer Lush said its staff were ‘devastated’ after the company’s branch was targeted and left with smashed windows and products littered outside the front door.
In Manchester, a Sainsbury’s was ransacked and in Liverpool a convenience store was broken into.
Following the riots in 2011, around 3,000 people were arrested – with more than 2,000 going on to face criminal charges and prison sentences.
The disturbances this year are not on the same scale, and the arrests are not in their thousands, however reports suggest that at least 100 and possibly as many as 400 people have been arrested over the violent disorder.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the rioting, and said that ‘those that have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law’.
