Far-right demonstrators have vandalised a hotel housing asylum seekers in the northern England town of Rotherham, as the United Kingdom grapples with its worst riots in 13 years.
On Sunday, hundreds of people gathered by a Holiday Inn Express hotel used to house asylum seekers near Rotherham, before throwing bricks at police and breaking several hotel windows, and then setting bins on fire.
Footage from UK broadcaster Sky News showed a line of police officers with shields facing a barrage of missiles, including bits of wood, chairs and fire extinguishers, as they sought to prevent the rioters from entering the hotel.
A police helicopter circled overhead, and at least one injured officer in riot gear was carried away as the atmosphere turned increasingly febrile.
The unrest is the latest bout of rioting in the UK that has gripped the nation, following a stabbing rampage at a dance class last week in the north of England that left three girls dead and several wounded.
According to police officials, false rumours spread online that the young man in the Southport stabbing was a Muslim and an immigrant, fuelling anger among the far-right in the country.
Speaking on Sunday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “there is no justification” for the far-right violence, which has led to attacks on mosques and assaults on Muslims and ethnic minorities.
“People in this country have a right to be safe and yet we have seen Muslim communities targeted and attacks on mosques,” Starmer said.
The prime minister added that “he won’t shy away from calling it [the rioting] what it is” and that is “far-right thuggery”.
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