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By Kate Holton, Catarina Demony and Suban Abdulla
LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of police and anti-racism protesters gathered on streets across Britain on Wednesday to challenge expected far-right groups that failed to materialise following more than a week of violent racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants.
Britain has been hit by a series of riots that erupted early last week after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England, triggering a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the suspected killer as an Islamist migrant.
Posts online had said far-right, anti-Muslim protesters would target a list of immigration centres, migrant support centres and specialist law firms on Wednesday, prompting many businesses to close early and some shops to board up windows.
The reports prompted the deployment of thousands of police officers, and crowds of protesters massed in towns and cities including London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool and Hastings, holding banners saying "Fight racism", "Stop the far right" and "Will trade racists for refugees".
The protesters were made up of a diverse collection of Muslims, anti-racist and anti-fascist groups, trade unionists, left-wing organisations, and locals appalled at the riots that had hit the country.
By 9 p.m. (2000 GMT) there were no reports of any serious disorder. Police said around 50 people in Croydon, south London, had thrown bottles and were trying to cause disruption.
Waste collector Stetson Matthew, 64, who joined thousands of demonstrators in Walthamstow, northeast London, said people had the right to protest but that the targeting of ethnic minorities had put the country on edge.
"Everybody has the right to do what they need to do but what they must do is to put their voices across peacefully, amicably, without any stress or violence," he said.
One woman who joined a counter protest in Hastings, southeast England, said she was relieved to see a large turnout.
"I felt I absolutely had to be here tonight to take a stand, and it is much easier for me to come as a white woman than for some of my non-white friends, so I'm here in solidarity," said 37-year-old Lucy, a flower grower, who declined to give her last name.
'STOP THE BOATS'
Riots erupted last week when groups of a few hundred mostly men clashed with police and smashed windows of hotels housing asylum-seekers from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, chanting "get them out" and "stop the boats" - a reference to those arriving in Britain in small dinghies without permission.
They have also pelted mosques with rocks, prompting Muslim organisations to issue community safety advice.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former chief prosecutor who is facing his first crisis since winning a July 4 election, has warned rioters they would face lengthy jail terms as he seeks to stamp out the worst outbreak of violence in Britain in 13 years.
A 58-year-old man was jailed for three years for violent disorder on Wednesday, while two others, aged 41 and 29, were sentenced to 20 and 30 months, respectively.
"This is the swift action we're taking. If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law," Starmer said.
Migration to Britain was a major factor in its 2016 vote to leave the European Union and it was a battleground during last month's election, with Nigel Farage's Reform Party winning around 4 million votes on calls for tighter border controls.
Britain saw record net migration levels in 2022, with numbers buoyed by those arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong, and through work and student visas.
Net migration through legal means was some 685,000 in 2023, while 29,000 people arrived on small boats across the Channel, many having fled war zones. The far-right chants of "stop the boats" was also a slogan of the Conservative Party before it was swept out of power after 14 years at the election.
The government has put together a so-called "standing army" of 6,000 specialist police officers to respond to any violence.
The National Police Chiefs' Council said more than 120 people had been charged and 428 arrests made in connection with the disorder.
(This story has been refiled to correct a typo in paragraph 19)
(Additional reporting by Sam Tobin, Kylie MacLellan and Michael Holden in London, Alexandra Hudson in Hastings; Writing by Kate Holton and Alistair Smout; Editing by Alex Richardson and Philippa Fletcher and Marguerita Choy)
