Statement on extremists & far-right violence
and riots
We send our heartfelt condolences to the victims and families of the horrific attack in Southport and join the nation in mourning the lives lost and harmed by this murderous violence. The attack on innocent people, especially children, was an abhorrent and cowardly act.
We are shocked to see the atrocious attack in Southport being weaponised and misused to spread violence and riots in cities and towns across the UK fuelled by Islamophobia and racism against Muslims, Black communities and immigrants.
We condemn the acts of violence and spread of Islamophobia and racial hatred across the UK and stand united with our police, fire, and other public services who are dealing with the consequences of these events and working to restore order and protect our communities.
We thank all those who have said to the far-right & extremists ‘not in my name’ and agree with the Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley when he said: “…force from the police, and…show of unity from communities, together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen”.
We are highly disturbed by the report of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) which revealed calls circulated by members of the British far right “for genocide against Muslims, incitements to destroy mosques and a call for a Srebrenica 2.0” – a reference to the genocide of Muslims in Bosnia in 1995, the worst atrocity on European soil since the second world war.
It is important to remember that the Srebrenica genocide did not happen overnight – it started with propaganda, disinformation, discrimination, prejudice and hate speech. And it shows the ultimate consequences of repeated Islamophobic rhetoric.
The Islamophobic and racist riots we have seen in our streets did not occur in a vacuum but have been fuelled by toxic and divisive rhetoric by politicians, some newspapers and social media platforms over the years. We call on the Government to hold the promoters and supporters of Islamophobia, hate and division to account.
What we have witnessed for the past few days cannot be allowed to flourish and must be confronted through community unity and educating people about the importance of rejecting hatred and intolerance. We call on our eight English regional boards, three country boards in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1,500 Community Champions to continue to unite communities against hatred and help build more cohesive communities by learning the lessons of Srebrenica.
