Anti-racism protesters take to streets in UK af8k8 comter days of unrest

LONDON -- Thousands of anti-racism protesters took to the streets in many cities and towns of the United Kingdom on Wednesday to counter far-right demonstrations after days of unrest following Southport stabbing.

By 11 pm (2200 GMT), most of the planned far-right demonstrations, numbering more than 100, didn't materialize after the British government deployed heavy police force to maintain order and large numbers of anti-racist protesters swarmed streets in cities and towns like London, Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham, Liverpool, Hastings and Walthamstow.

Anti-racism protests held placards with words such as "Smash fascism & racism", "Refugees welcome. Stop the far-right" and "Love, not hate." In Brighton, only a small number of far-right protesters turned up and were outnumbered by huge anti-racism crowds.

This came as a relief for the UK after days of far-right protests, targeting Muslims and the immigrant population in general, gripped the country, resulting in police officers being injured, stores being looted, hotels housing asylum-seekers being stormed.

The unrest was sparked by online disinformation that wrongly claimed the suspect who killed three children in Southport, northwest England, at the end of July was a Muslim immigrant. It was a 17-year-old boy named Axel Rudakubana born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents that was later charged with murder.

More than 100 rioters have been charged following the disorder and their cases have been swiftly processed in the court system. On Wednesday, three men were jailed, with one being given three years of prison time.