Moment rioters demand drivers reveal if they are ‘white and English’ while stopping traffic during violent protests in Middlesbrough as police warn the public to ‘stay away’ from the town
Far-right mobs in Middlesbrough stopped people to ask them if they are ‘white and English’ before letting them through as vile riots continue to sweep the nation.
Unsettling video shows thugs standing at a crossroads and confronting drivers in cars as they tried to pass.
‘Are you English? Are you white?’ one could be heard shouting at a car trying to cross the intersection where hundreds marched with anti-immigration groups earlier today.
‘Yes, he is!’ someone else was heard shouting back.
Two cars narrowly avoided colliding as they sped away from the mob, prompting one of the agitators to whine he had ‘nearly been run over’ and calling out ‘where’s your police?’
Rows of officers wielding riot shields were seen near the commotion as thugs circled on BMXs and continued stopping cars, standing in the middle of the road.
Cleveland Police said this afternoon they are continuing to deal with ‘disorder’ in Middlesbrough, claiming to have arrested nine people ‘relating to violent disorder offences’.
‘We are urging members of the public to stay away from Middlesbrough while officers respond to violent disorder in the town,’ Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said in a statement.
The horrifying moment racist thugs in Middlesbrough stop cars to check drivers’ ethnicities
The ‘checkpoint’ was set up on Linthorpe road in Middlesbrough amid spiralling violence
Groups sauntered in the road, agitating locals, as police observed nearby
MIDDLESBROUGH: A car burns on Parliament Road after it was set alight by far-right thugs
MIDDLESBROUGH: Police raced off with far-right agitators on Parliament Road today
MIDDLESBROUGH: Cars were set on fire and objects thrown at police in riots today
MIDDLESBROUGH: Riots have devastated towns and cities across the UK since July 30
The horrifying TikTok video of the ‘checkpoint’ on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough drew outcry as it was shared across social media.
‘This is a pretty concerning development. I thought we were supposed to be moving towards a more inclusive and equitable society, not regressing back to the days of segregation,’ one user wrote.
‘So utterly disappointed with this country and this disgusting behaviour,’ another said.
‘This is beyond sad… what is going on fgs,’ a third user added.
Middlesbrough has seen a thoroughly disturbing spate of violence over the weekend as far-right groups torched cars and hurled bricks.
A so-called protest organised by anti-immigration groups was organised to travel along the Linthorpe Road, where a mob was later seen screening drivers.
Buses announced they would change their schedules to avoid the disorder.
Hooligans set fire to cars and wheelie bins, pushed towards police trying to restore order.
About 300 people gathered in front of a mosque in Waterloo Road in the town to guard it while police blocked off nearby streets.
One resident told the PA news agency: ‘We’re going to be paying for this, and for what?
‘This has got nothing to do with three little girls that have lost their lives. They’ve used it to cause utter mayhem on our streets.’
A person was seen being stretchered into an ambulance after an incident at the Swatters Carr pub.
Police in riot gear were forced to retreat to get away from a group dressed in hoods and face coverings at one point.
Humza Yousaf has called for the army to be called in to stop ‘thugs’ causing disorder on the streets as violence continued unabated through Sunday.
‘It doesn’t look like, to me, the police have a handle on the situation,’ the former first minister of Scotland said.
‘The police have not been able to protect those that are in the Holiday Inn [in Rotherham],’ he added.
‘The army can help to get control where the police are unable.’
Despite calls for police to have more powers to clamp down on the riots, Dame Diana Johnson, the Minister for Policing, said police have said they have ‘all the resources they need’ to deal with the disorder.
In Hull last night police used tear gas against thugs who smashed the windows of a hotel housing asylum seekers, while cars were set alight and vandalised through the afternoon.
Similar horror rocked Rotherham today as groups stormed a Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers.
Around 700 violent anti-immigration protesters clad in balaclavas and draped in St George’s flags clashed with officers trying to protect the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire since around 2pm this afternoon.
Objects and pieces of wood were flung at officers who had lined up in front of the building with at least one cop in riot gear being carried away by their colleagues.
The grass around the hotel appears to have been set on fire as well.
Some were seen preparing to throw bricks of concrete as the violence spiralled.
It is unclear if the migrants and asylum seekers housed in the property have been able to evacuate.
MailOnline has contacted the Home Office.
Police said late this evening that officers were ‘aware and responding proactively’ to ‘protest activity’ in Tamworth, a small town in Staffordshire.
‘Robust action will be taken against those responsible for violence and disorder,’ a statement read.
Footage shared showed crowds standing around a Holiday Inn believed to be housing asylum seekers.
Bottles were launched at police, witnesses said.
Video appeared to show red flares being lit outside.
A small group of demonstrators carried St George’s Flag through Lancaster, shouting at a much larger crowd of counter-protestors in the main shopping district of the small university city.
Police were on guard to separate the groups, chanting back and forth at each other.
Chants of ‘refugees are welcome here’ were heard from the counter-protestors.
Others sang ‘There are many many more of us than you’ from the steps of the Town Hall.
ROTHERHAM: A rioter throws blocks of concrete towards a hotel on Sunday
ROTHERHAM: Violent thugs today attacked a hotel reported to be housing asylum seekers
ROTHERHAM: An injured man is arrested as riot police clash with a far-right mob today
ROTHERHAM: Police try to control the deplorable violence after a mob attacked a hotel
ROTHERHAM: Riots spread through smaller towns following violence in cities on Saturday
ROTHERHAM: A man looks out of The Holiday Inn hotel as counter-demonstrators gather
ROTHERHAM: Police have been trying to fend off agitators outside the hotel today
ROTHERHAM: Groups opposing the far-right riots massed outside the hotel
ROTHERHAM: Police stand guard outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorks
South Yorkshire Police said several of its officers were injured during ‘deplorable acts of violence’ outside the Holiday Inn Express in the Manvers area of Rotherham today.
At least ten officers have been injured as a result of the violence, with one left unconscious following a head injury, another suffering a suspected fractured elbow and other suffering suspected broken bones.
No hotel employees or residents have been injured, police said.
A heavy police presence will remain outside the hotel and in the surrounding area over the course of the rest of this evening and into tomorrow.
‘The behaviour we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting,’ said Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield.
‘While it was a smaller number of those in attendance who chose to commit violence and destruction, those who simply stood on and watched remain absolutely complicit in this.
‘Those who choose to spread misinformation and hate online, also need to take responsibility for the scenes today – this was not a protest, just angry people, reacting to a false narrative who have their own motivations for doing so.’
The Prime Minister this evening condemned the ‘thuggery’ of the far-right mob who stormed the hotel, promising those involved in the violence would ‘regret it’ as the government introduced emergency measures to bring rioters to justice.
UK courts are to operate for 24 hours to expedite prosecutions of those involved in the riots, the government confirmed yesterday as violence erupted on the streets of Belfast, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Stoke.
Saturday was the second night of violent confrontations after riots broke in Sunderland on Friday.
A Citizens Advice bureau in Sunderland was set alight on Friday amid the senseless attacks on community pillars.
ITV journalist Jonny Blair wrote on Twitter/X on Saturday: ‘Its manager this morning told me they’re devastated and now trying to figure out how to help the people they were supposed to see.’
Six people are due to appear in court following the night of disorder on Friday.
Thousands of protestors, including children as young as six, gathered in Keel Square in the city centre in response to the Southport stabbings.
Northumbria Police launched an investigation which has so far seen 14 people arrested for their role in the clashes with officers.
Five men, aged 48, 41, 31, 29, 27, and a 43-year-old woman have been charged with violent disorder.
The 27-year-old man has also been charged with one count of burglary.
All are due to appear before Magistrates’ tomorrow.
And last night, thugs in Merseyside set fire to a library, which also functioned as a food bank, intended to help support deprived people in the community.
As firefighters tried to put on the flames that engulfed Spellow Lane Library Hub rioters threw a missile at the engine, before breaking the rear window of a nearby cab.
Heartbreaking video of the centre as it opened last year went viral on Twitter/X as users denounced the shameless attacks.
BRISTOL: A man throws a can of cider towards counter-protesters
HANLEY: A man lies injured on the floor amid clashes during riots and protests
LIVERPOOL: Rioters torched the city’s new Spellow Hub library. which opened last year
LIVERPOOL: The destroyed interior of the Spellow Hub community library
From left to right: Alice Dasilva Aguiar,9, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and six-year-old Bebe King. The three girls tragically died after they were stabbed at a Taylor Swift dance event
A woman and a child embrace while they look at flowers in Southport. Memorials have sprung up across the Merseyside town where residents can leave floral tributes to the victims
Landmarks across the country were lit up in pink yesterday in tribute to the three children killed in the attack including Downing Street
Many police units were pushed to breaking point last night as clashes continued in multiple cities.
Protesters tried to kick down police officer’s riot gear, while other demonstrators threw objects at their shields.
Looters took advantage of the chaos, stealing phones, shoes and wine from the shelves of every-day stores, smashing their windows with bricks and stones.
In Liverpool, shameless yobs squealed ‘get the phones! Get the phones!’ as a group surrounded and battered their way into a phone repair and vape shop in the city centre.
Kicking the shutters with the feet and wrenching them up in a wild frenzy, the mob battered at the glass with what appeared to be a bollard before leaving the road outside strewn with packaging after they emptied the shelves.
The riots have swept across several UK cities following the deaths of three young girls in Southport.
Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old from Lancashire, was identified as the suspect in the case, charged with murdering three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.
He is accused of killing Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, with a kitchen knife on Monday.
Eight other children sustained knife wounds, with five of them left in critical condition.
Judge Menary KC cited ‘idiotic rioting’ in parts of the UK in his reasoning for lifting the automatic anonymity given to Rudakubana, as misinformation spread online about the suspect’s identity.
Claims falsely circulated social media that the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, described as a ‘quiet choir boy’ with a family involved in the local Christian church.
Sammy Woodhouse, a high-profile victim of the Rotherham child grooming gang scandal, said of the suspect in a broadcast: ‘[People] feel like they are not being told any information.
‘They know the guy’s not a British guy. They know he’s of a different ethnicity. There’s talk of him being a Muslim as well.’
The clip was shared by Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, after police had clarified that the claims were false, The Times reports.
Robinson, 41, had a UK arrest warrant issued against him last Monday after he skipped a court appearance.
MailOnline revealed exclusively that he has been staying at a five-star hotel in Cyprus as riots sweep England.
Community leaders and families of the victims of the murders in Southport have criticised the unrest.
‘While this should be a time for quiet reflection and remembrance, since Monday, too many people have sought to use the tragedy to create division and hate,’ a group of faith leaders from Liverpool said in a joint statement.
