Disturbances have broken out in Knowsley near Liverpool after several hundred far-right demonstrators protested against asylum seekers who have been housed in a local hotel by the Home Office. Merseyside police said three people had been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. Witnesses at the Suites hotel said missiles were thrown and far-right supporters set a police van and its equipment on fire. Anti-fascist demonstrators also attended and one said the far-right protesters had split into three groups and surrounded the smaller number of anti-fascist protesters. There were reports that the protest was organised by the far-right Patriotic Alternative but the group denied this in social media posts. (…) Knowsley’s Labour MP Sir George Howarth said the demonstration was triggered by an “alleged incident posted on social media” and criticised misinformation about refugees being “feather-bedded” at the hotel. In a statement, he said: “I have referred an alleged incident posted on social media, which has triggered a demonstration outside the Suites hotel, to Merseyside police and Knowsley council.
via guardian: Far-right protesters clash with police at Merseyside hotel housing asylum seekers
siehe auch: Far right riots at Liverpool hotel– As I write this, I am trapped in a hotel car park in my home city of Liverpool, surrounded by a violent mob of far-right thugs. Tonight that mob came to this hotel, the Suites in Knowsley, which is currently being used to house refugees who are victims of torture and war, to protest at the presence of refugees in the city. They say they did this to defend the British way of life; in fact they set fire to a police van, attacked the police and then tried to attack our peaceful counter-protest. Attacking those who uphold the country’s laws seems a funny way to defend said country. With friends like these, the British way of life might ask itself who needs enemies. The night began with so much hope. About 150 counter protestors had arrived and were sharing friendship abd a spirit of solidarity with the refugees houses in the hotel. Many were new arrivals, and must have felt scared, so to be able to reassure them was good. But as the far right arrived it seemed huge numbers had been shipped in from out of town. Initial reports suggest there as many as 400. There were a large squad of police, but with sheer weight of numbers and conspicuously good organisation, they broke through police lines and reached a van. They attacked and ransacked the van, and one thug clambered onto its roof before the mob set it on fire; Violence outside British hotel for asylum seekers leads to 15 arrests.British police said on Saturday 15 people, including a 13-year-old child, had been arrested after a protest by crowds outside a hotel housing asylum seekers turned violent, causing injuries and a police van being set on fire. Offenders threw missiles including lit fireworks at police officers following an initially peaceful protest and counter-protest on Friday evening in Knowsley near Liverpool in north-west England, police said. Knowsley Council said the protests occurred outside the Suites Hotel, which has been providing refuge to asylum seekers since January last year under a British government contract. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story Register now One officer and two members of the public received slight injuries, police said, adding that a total of 13 men and two women had been arrested. “A number of individuals who turned up at the Suites Hotel last night were intent on using a planned protest to carry out violent and despicable behaviour,” Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said. Latest Updates UK firefighters’ union recommends members accept new pay offer Charles’s coronation emblem revealed, showing British king’s love of nature Northern Ireland unionists face historic choice as EU, UK near protocol deal UK rail workers union rejects new pay offers in long-running dispute Some individuals had turned up armed with hammers and fireworks to “cause as much trouble as they could,” she added. Rumours and misinformation had circulated on social media ahead of Friday’s violence following an incident on Feb. 6 in Knowsley in which a man made inappropriate advances toward a teenage girl, Kennedy said. “We know that those involved in the violent activity last night used this as an excuse to commit violence and intimidate members of the public,” she said, adding an investigation into the incident involving the teenage girl was ongoing.
