Protests escalate

100 arrests after Southport knife attack

The number of rioters who turned up increased rapidly on Tuesday evening, causing the situation to escalate "very quickly".(Bild: AP/Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Following the fatal knife attack in Southport, a protest by British ultra-nationalists near the seat of government, Downing Street, has escalated. More than 100 people were arrested during the riots on Wednesday. A paramedic and police officers were slightly injured.

Videso (see above) shows how a scuffle broke out between demonstrators and police on Wednesday. According to media reports, rioters threw bottles and cans as well as fireworks at the Downing Street fence.

The protest was held under the slogan "Enough is enough". Participants chanted "Rule Britannia" and demanded that the entry of irregular migrants be stopped.

Alice Dasilva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7) and Bebe King (6)(Bild: AFP)

Crime shocks Great Britain 
However, police say a 17-year-old who was born in the UK is suspected of murder. The BBC reported that the teenager was the son of Rwandan parents and had been living in the Southport area for more than ten years. He is said to have stabbed three girls to death on Monday and injured eight other children and two adults, some of them seriously. The suspect has now been charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder, police said.

According to the police, the 17-year-old is in custody and is due to appear in court in Liverpool this Thursday.

Right-wing extremists accuse the authorities of covering up the truth about the origins of the alleged perpetrator from Southport. False news reports had spread the rumor that he was an irregularly entered Muslim asylum seeker.

Right-wing extremists accuse the authorities of covering up the truth about the origin of the alleged perpetrator of the Southport attack.(Bild: AP)

The number of rioters who turned up increased rapidly on Tuesday evening, causing the situation to escalate "very quickly".(Bild: AP/Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

(Bild: APA/AFP/BENJAMIN CREMEL)

(Bild: APA/AFP/BENJAMIN CREMEL)

Escalation after vigil
In Southport, north of Liverpool, around 200 to 300 right-wing extremists had already rioted and attacked the police after a peaceful vigil on Tuesday evening. In the process, 53 officers were injured, eight of them seriously. Some streets resembled a field of rubble on Wednesday after rioters near a mosque attacked police officers with bricks, dustbins and street signs. A burnt-out police car could be seen.

The British government strongly condemned the riots. The new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that rioters would feel the full force of the law.