Far-right protests spread across United Kingdom, 147 arrested | Latest updates

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned the far-right protesters that they would "regret" participating in the violence.

Violence continued in several towns and cities across the United Kingdom in the wake of a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and many more wounded on July 29 in Southport.

A car burns on Parliament Road during an anti-immigration protest in Middlesbrough, England on August 4, 2024. (AP)

Since then, far-right demonstrators have launched several violent protests throughout the week, in response to the attack. The violence began after false rumours spread online that the suspect in the dance class stabbing attack was a Muslim and an immigrant, according to the Associated Press. The attacker, a 17-year-old born in Wales to Rwandan parents, has been apprehended.

The violence is the worst England has seen since the summer of 2011, when riots broke out after a mixed-race man was killed by the police in north London, according to AFP.

Here's the latest on the violence across the UK:

• On Sunday, trouble flared in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, after masked anti-immigration demonstrators smashed several windows at a hotel that has been used to house asylum seekers.
• Footage aired on the BBC showed rioters forcefully entering Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham. They also pushed a burning bin into the building.

Police officers grapple with a man during an anti-immigration demonstration outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, Sunday Aug. 4, 2024. (AP)

• In Middlesbrough, hundreds of protesters surround riot police carrying shields, according to AFP. Some threw bricks, cans and pots at officers. A car was also set alight by the miscreants, reported the BBC.
• According to the police, about 147 persons have been arrested across the country, and the number is expected to rise.
• Of the total arrests, 90 people were arrested on Saturday after skirmishes broke out at far-right rallies in numerous places, including Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Blackpool and Hull, as well as Belfast in Northern Ireland.
• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned the far-right protesters that they would "regret" participating in the violence.

Police officers lead a man away during an anti-immigration demonstration outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, Sunday Aug. 4, 2024. (AP)

• "I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder. Whether directly or those whipping up this action online, and then running away themselves," Starmer said in a televised address.
• The prime minister further dubbed the protest as “violent thuggery” which has no place in England or online.
• Former PM Rishi Sunak has also condemned the unrest, saying that “violent, criminal behaviour” has no place in the society. “The shocking scenes we’re seeing on the streets of Britain have nothing to do with the tragedy in Southport,” he wrote on X.