Toon United: Anti-racism rallies confront far-right riots in Newcastle

United against hate, hundreds gathered in Newcastle City Centre as the threat of far-right riots spread across the nation. Britain was refused the opportunity to process and mourn the deaths of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice DaSilva Aguiar following the Southport stabbings on the 29th of July.

Violence began in Southport 36-hours after the knife attack with a police van and mosque being targeted. A “hit list” of 39 locations quickly spread, including Newcastle, which prompted the organisation of counter protests to quell the disorder of far-right rioters. 

Crowds of anti-racism demonstrators gathered in Newcastle’s Newgate Street and Bigg Market area - many holding banners reading “Refugees welcome. Stop the far-right”. Numbers amounted to almost a thousand promoting a peaceful message of love and inclusivity for people at risk of far-right violence.

Intelligence officials were on high alert and predicted that the North of England was likely to be the most targeted area. Keir Starmer called two emergency COBRA meetings in a 48-hour period and green-lighted the biggest mobilisation of riot officers in mainland Britain since the 2011 England riots. 

The force for Newcastle - Northumbria Police, had “every deployable officer” out on the streets in an attempt to dissuade and control any potential outbreaks of violence. This combined with the large crowds of anti-racism marchers worked effectively and massively outnumbered the handful of far-right protesters that were present in the city. 

This is evident in the nature of the arrests that were made on the day. 14 arrests for offences including: possession of an offensive weapon, possession of Class B drugs, and failure to comply. Notably none were made for violent disorder - showing the successes of the anti-racism rallies in wanting to steer chaos away from Newcastle.

Chief Superintendent at Northumbria Police, Steve Wykes praised the actions of anti-racism demonstrators and police - saying that the day was, “peaceful and passed without incident”. He stood alongside the actions taken by those involved in organising the anti-racism rallies - simply stating, “Our region has spoken”.

These comments were echoed by others in positions of power representing the city. Firstly, North-East Mayor Kim McGuinness said, “violence in our streets won’t be accepted”. Newcastle City Council leader Nick Kemp praised police for a “phenomenal job”. He added, “This Geordie nation is incredible”, “today Newcastle showed them what we are about”. 

Newcastle stood up to the threat of far-right violence and protected those who were at risk, doing so in a peaceful manner. A show of love against hate - representing the welcoming and diverse Geordie community. Newcastle marched together in solidarity and united as one to remove an unwelcome far-right presence from the all-inclusive streets of Tyneside.