Several British police officers have been injured as far-right activists clash with anti-racism protesters amid violent demonstrations following the stabbing of multiple children at a dance class in Southport that left three girls dead and several wounded.

On Saturday, Merseyside Police said a number of officers were injured in “serious disorder” in the centre of Liverpool, about 32 kilometres away from the scene of the stabbing attack.

In a series of posts on the social media platform X, the force said there is “no place for this despicable behaviour which disrupts the lives of members of the public who live in the city, or are visiting to enjoy the amenities the city has to offer.”

Humberside Police in a statement said three police officers have been injured and four people arrested following disorder in Hull, a city in the northeast of England. Earlier, windows of a hotel in Hull that is used to house migrants were smashed.

A car and the building next door to a police station were set ablaze, and 12 people were arrested.

Elsewhere, bricks were thrown at police officers in Stoke-on-Trent in central England while scuffles have also been reported in Belfast, Manchester and Nottingham.

There were no reports of far-right marches in London.

Demonstrations are being promoted online over the coming days in towns and cities including Sunderland, Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester, using phrases including “enough is enough,” “save our kids” and “stop the boats.”

In response, police have mounted a significant security operation, deploying thousands more officers onto the streets, many in riot gear. 

Police have also made more prison cells available and are using surveillance and facial recognition technology.

Britain’s new Labour prime minister Keir Starmer held a crisis meeting with ministers on Saturday, in which he said police have the government’s “full support” to take action against “extremists” attacking officers and attempting to “sow hate,” according to his office in No. 10 Downing Street.

Fuelled by misinformation

Violence erupted after false rumours spread online that the suspect at the centre of the Southport stabbing was a young Muslim man and an immigrant, feeling anger among far-right supporters. 

Hours after the rumours began spreading, violent protesters clashed with police outside a nearby mosque.

Police say the name was fake, as were rumours that the 17-year-old suspect was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain. 

The suspect charged with murder and attempted murder was named Thursday as Axel Rudakubana, born in the UK to Rwandan parents.

By the time a judge said the teen suspect could be identified, rumours already were rife and right-wing influencers had pinned the blame on immigrants and Muslims.

Suspects under 18 are usually not named in the UK, but Judge Andrew Menary ordered Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents, to be identified, in part to stop the spread of misinformation.

ad

Argentinian President Javier Milei has emerged as a powerful ally of the Venezuelan anti-government protests as international pressure mounts to award the recent presidential election to the opposition.

Leaders from around the world, including the U.S., have cast doubt on Nicolas Maduro’s claim that he won the election, and protesters have clashed with police in the streets of the embattled South American nation.

“He’s been very, very helpful, and he has been kind of like a rallying voice in South America to allow him, along with the left, the opposition of healing work and kind of pushing other democracies to recognize Edmundo as president,” Daniel Acosta Rivas, an OSINT Analyst, told Fox News Digital. 

Rivas said that Milei’s vocal support has “been coming into Venezuela and especially in the diaspora.”

Milei was among the first world leaders to speak out after the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council handed victory to the incumbent with an alleged margin of 51%, compared to 44% support for the opposition. Pre-election polling (which is illegal in the country) indicated that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez received double the votes of Maduro. 

BLINKEN SAYS VENEZUELA’S NICOLAS MADURO LOST ELECTION BEFORE CLAIMING VICTORY WITH ‘NO SUPPORTING EVIDENCE’

The U.S. eventually recognized Gonzalez as the winner after claiming to have reviewed tally sheets, but Milei had immediately blasted the election result as a “fraud carried out and perpetrated by the dictator Nicolás Maduro.” 

“He may believe he has won a battle,” Milei said. “However, the most important thing is that the Venezuelan lions have awakened, and sooner or later socialism will come to an end.”

Milei stressed that Argentina “will not acknowledge a new fraud” and urged Venezuela’s armed forces to “defend democracy and popular will this time around.” He pointed to “data” that showed a “crushing victory for the opposition.” 

Protesters took to the streets and met a violent crackdown from police as Maduro attempted to press his victory claim, drawing international condemnation. Milei continued to urge the protesters and support their fight against Maduro.

CHAVEZ STATUES TOPPLED ACROSS VENEZUELA AS ELECTION PROTESTS RAGE ON

Maduro lashed out at Milei earlier this week, taking several shots at the Argentinian. He referenced Milei’s “monster face” and called him “an ugly guy, too, and stupid.” 

He also labeled Milei a “Nazi, fascist guy” who demanded to know how anyone could take a “guy like that seriously,” according to the Buenos Aires Herald. He also called Milei a “cowardly bug” and a “traitor to the homeland.” 

Demonstrators clash with police close to an armored police car during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. Protests erupted in parts of Caracas Monday against the re-election victory claimed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally, AFP journalists observed. (Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images)

“These people have said no to wild capitalism and fascism,” Maduro insisted during a rally outside his party headquarters. “From Caracas, Venezuela has said no to the Nazi fascist Milei. We are a country of warriors.”

But Maduro’s response only seemed to have galvanized the protesters and strengthened Milei’s popularity among the opposition. Rivas noted that Maduro keeps commenting on the likes of Milei and Elon Musk – both prominent critics following the election result – in an effort to shift the focus away from the election, but the efforts have only highlighted him and his politics in a region that is increasingly unhappy with politics as normal in the region. 

BIDEN’S VENEZUELA POLICY FEEDS MADURO STRONGMAN IMAGE, EMBOLDENS DICTATOR IN ELECTION CONTROVERSY: RUBIO

“He has pushed a right-wing movement or classical liberal movement throughout Latin America,” Rivas said. “You see people being inspired by his message and his rise to the leadership … he was virtually unknown outside of libertarian circles before he ran for office, and he was dismissed by the other members of the opposition in Argentina during the Fernandez-Kirchner government. And look at him now.”

Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan foreign policy expert and President of the Economic Inclusion Group, told Fox News Digital that “young people in Venezuela are tired of communism, even the mildest form of socialism.”

Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government protest in Caracas on July 29, 2024, a day after the Venezuelan presidential election. Protests erupted in parts of Caracas Monday against the re-election victory claimed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro but disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally, AFP journalists observed.  (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)

“What all of us want is a true change towards the idea of freedom,” Jraissati said. “This is why Javier Milei is … openly defending the ideas of freedom. He is tackling inflation. He is cutting wasteful government spending. And overall, he is pushing the notion that if people are allowed to be free, our countries will finally flourish.”

“The communists have been in power for 25 years in Venezuela,” he continued. “Their legacy has been one of extreme poverty and hunger: From being the wealthiest country in Latin America, we are now the poorest, and on the political front, they turn a functioning democracy into a Stalinist system in which all political freedoms have been taken away from us.”

HARRIS FAILED TO COMBAT ‘ROOT CAUSES’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, FORMER BORDER PATROL CHIEF SAYS

Venezuelan activists living in exile spoke glowingly of Milei and his potential impact on the country as protesters continue seeking an end to the Maduro-Chavez system and a new way of life, possibly one that aligns more with the politics of Milei. Since taking office earlier this year, Milei, an economist, has tamed Argentina’s runaway inflation, balanced the budget and pared the size of government.

“Young people tend to embrace socialist ideas; however, those who have lived under these political systems become their biggest adversaries,” Esteban Hernández, a Venezuelan journalist in exile in Miami, told Fox News Digital. 

“The Venezuelan youth, unlike in other countries, doesn’t support these ideas,” he said. “As a matter of fact, we have seen that in nations like the U.S. or even Argentina, they make efforts to get elected those who oppose socialism.” 

“During the last election cycle in Argentina, for example, we saw many Venezuelans warning locals about voting for Sergio Massa, and many even volunteered to get Javier Milei elected,” Hernández added. 

Franklin Camargo, a Venezuelan activist in exile, told Fox News Digital that “Javier Milei is the best right-wing leader of our generation, since he refutes the socialists and the left with philosophical and moral arguments while continually offering the best defense of Individualism, Capitalism and Freedom.”