Lancaster, United Kingdom – Sharon Mortlock is unfazed by the far right.
As she sipped her coffee and read her book, taking a break from her full-time role caring for her ailing husband, dozens of agitators gathered at the picturesque picnic spot in Lancaster where she had chosen to take a break.
“This is my only outdoor space, it’s like my garden,” she said. “I wasn’t moving for anyone.”
The protesters in the northern English city were part of a growing far-right movement that has convulsed the country. Riots against immigrants, Muslims and ethnic minorities have been breaking out for a week.
The attacks were sparked by misinformation on social media after a fatal knife attack in Southport, a coastal town about 40 miles from Lancaster, on July 29, during which three girls were killed. Many posts suggested the suspect was Muslim and a migrant. He is neither.
In the end, the attempt to shake up Lancaster failed because counter-protesters outnumbered the agitators.
“They are concerned about the number of people coming in and they see that as a bad thing instead of being more objective and open about what immigrants can really bring to the country,” Mortlock said.
Although tensions have calmed in Lancaster, riots continue to rage in towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland as online provocateurs continue to tap into anger over the Southport tragedy.
More than 400 people have been arrested in connection with far-right violence over the past week.
Riots broke out in Belfast, Darlington and Plymouth overnight.
Internationally, the UK's reputation on the world stage has been damaged.
Global media coverage has delved deeper into the explicitly racist nature of the unrest. Nigeria, Australia, Malaysia, India and Indonesia are among countries that have issued warnings to their citizens about the risks of violence.
Disinformation and fears of the far right
In the UK, figures including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who operates under the pseudonym Tommy Robinson, and Nigel Farage, the MP who leads the reformist populist movement, have been accused of spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation that have fuelled the unrest.
They have also sown distrust in the government and the police.
Both have repeated the myth that police employ a “two-tiered” approach, which they say unfairly favors minority groups and the left while punishing white protesters more harshly.
Hassan, a 38-year-old man who fled Sudan when war broke out in April 2023 and was later taken prisoner by armed groups in Libya, said he feels worried.
He arrived in Lancaster months ago. Staff at Global Link, a local charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers, had warned him about the far-right movement in Britain.
“I feel unhappy,” Hassan told Al Jazeera through a translator. “I don’t know what I will do if the local people don’t accept me.”
In Lancaster, at least for now, that seems unlikely. The city seems to thrive on community-led projects that welcome everyone.
Two of the city's music venues, the Kanteena and Ye Olde John O'Gaunt pub, have vowed to ban anyone attending the planned far-right protest.
In nearby Preston and Blackburn, planned riots failed in the face of local opposition, as in Lancaster.
A similar protest, planned in the traditional seaside resort of Blackpool, coincided with the town's annual Rebellion punk festival. Attendees are said to have been among the first to turn on the right-wing protesters.
“In Lancaster, everyone has been nice to us,” said Wael, who left Damascus six years ago to avoid being drafted into the Syrian army.
“I saw it yesterday,” he said of the response to the far-right protest. “It made me happy to see all these people supporting the refugees.”
However, according to anti-racism groups, violence looks set to continue in English towns and cities in the coming days. Buoyed by the success of Sunday's counter-protest, the local Lancaster branch of the national campaign group Stand Up To Racism says it is prepared.
