Nigella Lawson has donated to a GoFundMe that’s raised more than £130,000 for a Liverpool library torched by far-right rioters over the weekend.
The Spellow Hub only re-opened last year as more than just a library. It offered education, employment advice, parenting classes and access to council services in one of the country’s most deprived communities.
‘People were itching to get back into the building’, hub manager Debbie Moore said at the time. ‘The area has got its buzz back.’
On Saturday, the building went up in flames. ‘It’s just devastating’, Debbie said as she stood among the charred walls and debris on the floor, just metres from Everton’s Goodison Park.
What started as an afternoon protest at the city’s Pier Head, in the shadow of the skyline’s ‘Three Graces’, soon descended into chaos.
Sympathy for the families of three girls stabbed to death in Southport gave way to naked racism, with chants of ‘Tommy Robinson’ and ‘stop the boats’.
Then seemingly random violence was unleashed as cans and bottle flew through the air.
A lone police officer was swarmed and pushed off their motorbike before being punched and kicked.
Families out to see the Disney Dream cruise ship docked nearby ran away as rioters rampaged through the city, tearing off a shutter to loot a phone repair shop.
But the violence wasn’t contained to the city centre.
As the sun set, crowds started to grow on County Road, near a mosque where far-right Telegram channels had urged people to gather.
Bricks and fireworks rained down on a wall of riot police who kept the thugs at bay.
In the end, it was regular shops that fell victim, and the Spellow Hub set ablaze.
‘We’re just seeing what we can salvage’, staff member Mark said on Sunday as they inspected the charred remains.
Most of the building remained structurally intact, but the books were damaged and the space has been put out of use.
‘These criminals care nothing for our community’, local Labour MP Dan Carden told Metro, saying: ‘We are witnessing racist and Islamophobic hatred, instigated by organised far-right groups online, spill onto our streets and into mindless violence.’
He added: ‘Those who take part in hatred and destruction do not represent us.
‘The many residents who have pulled together to support clean-up efforts show our community at its best.’
One member of the community, ‘heartbroken to think that children will miss out’, launched a GoFundMe campaign with a target of £500 to replace some books.
More than £130,000 has now been raised. Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson donated £500.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who wrote the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, has also contributed to the fundraiser.
One donor, Virginia Schroder, wrote: ‘Spellow Lane library was my local library when I was growing up. It meant so much to me.
‘It was a wonderful place to go – a safe, free space which opened up so many interests for me. I hope this fundraiser will enable it to do the same again for the people of Walton.’
Spellow Lane has also seen significant support from other libraries, with a £1,000 donation from Much Ado Books in East Sussex.
There have even been offers of support from a public library in Canada, and of new books from a major UK publisher, according to Lord Mayor of Liverpool Richard Kemp.
Mr Carden said: ‘Areas such as County have suffered most from 14 years of cuts and long-term decline.
‘We must set a new course for people, especially young people – one that provides good education, housing, work and prosperity.
‘Addressing the economic conditions that create fertile ground for division is crucial to bring people together, build communities resilient to hate and close down the spaces in which the far-right can organise.’
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