How was a vigil for three young girls wickedly murdered at a Taylor Swift dance class hijacked by a group of far-right thugs rioting against Islam? From mourning to rioting, the sickening killing of three young girls has rightly led to feelings of disgust and grief among the Southport community and wider public. Yet, the far-right thugs who rioted violently against police near Southport mosque last Tuesday evening, were not there to pay their respects to the young victims killed.
The far-right rioters, who are believed to be supporters of the English Defence League, disrupted a peaceful vigil held a day after three young girls were stabbed to death. Creating chaos, the rioters threw bricks at a local mosque, burnt police vehicles and screamed anti-Muslim chants whilst the Southport community and the rest of the nation grieved for three young girls. Exploiting the tragedy, the far-right rioters shifted the narrative from a vigil symbolising communal unity in mourning to a dangerous display of hatred and division in an attempt to opportunistically peddle anti-Islam sentiments.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at the vigil in Southport to lay wreaths, toys and candles and pay their respects in an emotional tribute to the three girls who were killed during an attack on a Taylor Swift themed dance class.
The riots erupted due to the viral spreading of misinformation on X with speculation that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker who arrived by boat. Nigel Farage added fuel to the fire questioning on X if the “truth is being withheld from us”. The far right, emboldened by the likes of Tommy Robinson and Farage’s rReform party, now has not one but five seats in the House of Commons, providing right-wing extremists with a clear platform to represent their dangerous rhetoric in Parliament. The Southport riots expose the real danger posed by these groups: they exploit tragedies to spread fear, misinformation and hatred. Where was the far-right’s outrage when white ex-army officer, Kyle Clifford, brutally killed four women with a crossbow in Bushey? Or when Wayne Couzens kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard?
In reality, the police have clarified that the suspect is a Cardiff-born man with “no known links to Islam” and rather police are focusing on the suspect’s mental health.
Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said: “There has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody, and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets.”
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) paid tribute to the girls killed in the attack and said that “Southport’s tragedy was shamelessly exploited to spark outrage, with Islamophobia fueling the fire and leading to tonight’s violence”.
This is just another example of the dangers of social media misinformation in a political climate which increasingly welcomes far-right rhetoric, pushing anti-migrant hatred and division for political gain. If nothing is done to tackle misinformation online, the far-right thuggery witnessed in Southport may just be the start of much worse to come.
While far-right groups have used the Southport attack to spread Islamophobic messages, this obscures the real issue evident time and time again: male violence against women and girls. From Sarah Everard’s kidnapping and murder to the brutal crossbow killings of four women by ex-army officer Kyle Clifford, there is a clear and disturbing pattern of misogynistic violence against women and girls. The stabbing of three young girls during a Taylor Swift themed dance class is yet another tragic example of the epidemic of male violence against women and girls.
So, rather than scapegoating Muslims and immigrants, there needs to be a clear focus on tackling male violence against women. How many more women need to die at the hands of violent men for meaningful change to happen? Something must be done to tackle the gender-based violence which occurs regularly in this country.
Image: Gavin Lynn/Flickr
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