Rioters descend on second migrant hotel as far-right mob try to set fire to Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers in Tamworth after smashing their way inside hours after of anti-immigrant protesters attacked police at venue in Rotherham

Rioters have descended on a second hotel believed to be housing migrants and asylum seekers, as thugs set fire to a doorway, smashed windows, and threw projectiles at police in Britain’s fifth day of violence. 

Hundreds of people gathered as a group of masked thugs threw a burning bush inside the side entrance of the Hotel Inn Express, Leisure Island, in Tamworth this evening, while onlookers filmed, cheered and clinked their beer bottles.

‘Get out England’ has been graffitied on the side of the building, as police worked to extinguish the fire inside the hotel’s stairwell.

Some people could be heard chanting ‘England, England, England,’ while others threw objects at police and set off flares and fireworks. One man could be seen running towards police with what appeared to be a large speaker.

Officers clad in riot gear were seen standing in a line guarding the entrance to the hotel. One police officer has been injured. 

Tamworth Police has urged people to avoid the area around the Holiday Inn as officers deal with the ‘violent acts of thuggery’.

They said in a statement: ‘We’re urging members of the public to avoid the area around the Holiday Inn, Tamworth, as specialist officers continue to deal with violent acts of thuggery tonight.

‘A large group of individuals are in the area and have been throwing projectiles, smashing windows, starting fires and targeting police. One officer has been injured.

‘Officers are working valiantly to keep the public safe. Specialist drone surveillance and the national police air service (NPAS) have been sweeping the area as our efforts to identify those involved continue.’

It comes after an angry far-right mob stormed into a hotel in Rotherham today, hurling chairs and spraying fire extinguishers at riot police, while setting bins, a generator and furniture alight. 

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. 

At least 10 officers have been injured in the chaos outside the hotel on the northern outskirts of the post-industrial town. One was left unconscious following a head injury, another suffered a suspected fractured elbow and other suspected broken bones.

It marks yet another day of violent riots of Britain’s streets, with crowds in Middlesbrough setting fire to a car and pushing burning wheelie bins at police, while thugs in Rotherham smash windows and doors as riot police use shields to push them back.

South Yorkshire Police said one person has been arrested on suspicion of public order offences.

Meanwhile, a peaceful protest in Bolton descended into chaos when two groups of demonstrators clashed. One charged towards the town hall shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while the other waved England flags.

Similar scenes could be seen in Weymouth, as around 400 protesters from opposing sides gathered on the seafront to chant at each other. One side could be heard chanting ‘Nazis go home’, while the other shouted ‘Tommy Robinson’. 

The outbursts come after three young girls were stabbed to death in Southport on July 29. 

While photos from Rotherham have shown some occupants looking out of the hotel window onto rioters, it is unclear if the migrants and asylum seekers housed in the property have been able to evacuate. MailOnline has contacted the Home Office. 

Other photos appear to show far-right protesters breaching the hotel. The BBC reported that balaclava-clad people were seen forcing their way inside. 

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. 

Keir Starmer vowed rioters would ‘regret’ taking part in ‘far-right thuggery’ after a fifth day of violence in England, as the Government announced emergency security for mosques amid the threat of further disorder. 

A group of young men in Rotherham held a banner that read ‘we’re not far right we’re just right’ while another placard being waved around said: ‘Stopping the boats means stopping the stabbings’.

Missiles, including glass bottles and beer cans were thrown at police, as protesters smashed hotel windows to gain access to the premises.

One person’s face was seen completely covered with a Union Jack mask while they waved a large England flag outside the hotel and chanted offensive slogans. 

The protest has already been strongly criticised by anti-racism groups as well as campaigner Brendan Cox, whose MP wife Jo Cox was killed in her West Yorkshire constituency in 2016.

He said: ‘The scenes in Rotherham aren’t a protest, they aren’t even a far right riot, they are an ongoing attempt to murder the men, women and children inside by burning them alive. 

‘The stench of these days will hang around those who incited and justified it for the rest of their lives.’

An anti-racism counter protest at the scene increased tensions for police, who arrived to find banners reading: ‘Refugees welcome: Stop the far right.’

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. 

Officers regained access to the hotel from protesters and are continuing to disperse the group away from the area this evening.

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.

Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield said: ‘Today in Rotherham we have seen our officers attacked and at least ten injured, significant damage caused and a fire set outside a hotel full of terrified residents and staff. The mindless actions of those today have achieved nothing other than sheer destruction and leaving members of the public and the wider community in fear.

‘The behaviour we witnessed has been nothing short of disgusting. 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.

‘All today has achieved is the diversion of police and partner resources, operational police officers who will now be away from active duty while they recover from their injuries, and the continued use of public money to clean up the mess they have left behind.

‘Please be assured, our work does not end today – we have officers working hard, reviewing the considerable online imagery and footage of those involved, and they should expect us to be at their doors very soon.

‘I want to take this opportunity to thank our officers and staff who have worked incredibly hard today and the officers from West Yorkshire Police, British Transport Police, Durham Constabulary, North Yorkshire Police and Leicestershire Police who have supported us, alongside South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for their continued support.’

Meanwhile, in a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned an attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham and promised those involved in unrest would ‘face the full force of the law’.

Speaking from Downing Street, Sir Keir suggested that rioters taking to the streets, and those ‘whipping up this action online and then running away themselves,’ would face consequences.

The Home Office announced mosques would be offered greater protection under a new ‘rapid response process’ designed to quickly tackle the threat of further attacks on places of worship.

‘People in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we’ve seen Muslim communities targeted, attacks on mosques,’ the Prime Minister said on Sunday.

‘Other minority communities singled out, Nazi salutes in the street, attacks on the police, wanton violence alongside racist rhetoric, so no, I won’t shy away from calling it what it is: far-right thuggery.’

Sir Keir indicated the response to the violence could mirror elements of how the 2011 riots were handled, at which time he was director of public prosecutions.

‘We do have standing arrangements for law enforcement which means that we can get arrests, charge remanded in custody and convictions done very quickly,’ he said.

‘I myself was part of that in 2011 when I was director of public prosecutions, and I’m determined we will do whatever it takes to bring these thugs to justice as quickly as possible.’

Ministers have suggested that courts could sit 24 hours to fast-track prosecutions while police forces have measures in place to draft in extra officers to tackle potential unrest.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the deliberate torching of a hotel where people were known to be inside was ‘utterly appalling’ and South Yorkshire Police have Government backing to take ‘the strongest action’.

Ms Cooper said: ‘Britain is a proud and tolerant country, and nobody should make any excuses for the shameful actions of the hooligans, thugs and extremist groups who have been attacking police officers, looting local shops or attacking people based on the colour of their skin.

‘In light of the disgraceful threats and attacks that local mosques have also faced in many communities, the Government is providing rapid additional support through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme, alongside the support from local police forces and we repeat that anyone involved in this disorder and violence will face the full force of the law.

‘As a nation we will not tolerate criminal behaviour, dangerous extremism, and racist attacks that go against everything our country stands for.’

Humza Yousaf has called for the army to be called in to stop ‘thugs’ causing disorder on the streets.

‘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,’ he added. The army can help to get control where the police are unable.’

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also condemned the violence this evening.

He said: ‘The shocking scenes we’re seeing on the streets of Britain have nothing to do with the tragedy in Southport. 

‘This is violent, criminal behaviour that has no place in our society. The police have our full support to deal with these criminals swiftly and they must face the full weight of the law.’

 

South Yorkshire’s mayor Oliver Coppard said he is ‘utterly appalled by the violence’ in Rotherham. 

‘What we’re seeing is not protest, it is brutal thuggery directed against some of the most vulnerable people in our society’, he said in a statement.

‘The people carrying out these attacks do not represent the beautiful, brilliant place and people I know. We will come after those carrying out this violence with the full force of the law’, he added. 

Watching the scenes of chaos unfold, former home secretary and Tory party leader hopeful James Cleverly said rioters should be hit with ‘the full weight of the law’.

‘There is not and can never be any excuse, justification or rationale for behaviour like this,’ he tweeted. ‘This should be condemned by everybody, and those taking part should expect to be met with the full weight of the law.’

IGH, the parent company of the Holiday Inn chain, told the BBC: ‘The safety and security of our guests and colleagues is always our priority.’

A Sky News journalist was approached by a group of masked men with ‘potential weapons’ in their hands while reporting on the scenes in Middlesbrough this evening. 

The moment was caught on camera as Charlotte Leeming and her team were forced to move back.

Meanwhile, the sight of demonstrators attacking a hotel in the belief it is housing migrants is ‘almost incomprehensible’, the managing director of the Hope not Hate advocacy group has said.

Nick Lowles said he was ‘lost for words’ to describe the scenes at a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham.

‘The fact that hundreds of people have targeted a hotel that is housing migrants, it is almost incomprehensible,’ he told Sky News.

‘They knew that people were in that hotel and they consciously tried to set fire to it.

‘Communities are so scared, we have to rebuild.’

Mr Lowles said agitators have been over-simplifying stories to whip-up hate.

The disruption across England and Northern Ireland began on Tuesday in Southport, after three little girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. 

Elsewhere in Middlesbrough, more than 300 protesters started marching towards the city’s Cenotaph today.

They carried a banner that read: ‘Tom Jones is Welsh, Axel Rudakubana isn’t’ Rudakubana is the 17-year-old accused for murdering the three little girls in Southport and is charged with attempted murder of 10 others.

His parents were born in Rwanda before moving to the UK in 2002. Rudakubana was born in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to near Southport in 2013.

Others marching through the city chanted ‘we want our country back’ as they made their way through the city centre.

At least two people were taken away in handcuffs within the first half hour, while several pieces of slate were thrown, along with vapes and full plastic bottles.

Some people kicked bollards into the road so that police vehicles driving ahead of the group could not get through, and one man sat on the bonnet of a police car to stop it from moving.

One Middlesbrough resident said: ‘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.

Cleveland Police said officers have made nine arrests so far relating to violent disorder offences in Middlesbrough.

The force said the main areas affected are Parliament Road, Waterloo Road, and the area around the university.

Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: ‘We are urging members of the public to stay away from Middlesbrough while officers respond to violent disorder in the town.

‘We have a high policing presence responding to the disorder, and the priority remains to protect people and communities.

‘We will continue to make arrests and deal robustly with anyone shown to be intent on committing violence and causing harm.’

Sir Keir Starmer will lead the Government’s response to a wave of far-right violence and disorder, following reports he would be going on holiday this week. 

Downing Street has insisted the Prime Minister will be working from No10 all week as his Government deals with its biggest crisis since winning the election last month.  

Slamming Sir Keir’s alleged plans to go on holiday, Mr Jenrick told GBN Live: ‘I think it would be completely wrong for the Prime Minister to go on holiday whilst parts of Britain are burning.

‘I’m sure that the government, like the whole country, sees the severity of the situation.’ 

The politician added: ‘I know they’re trying to get a grip on it and I welcome some of the measures they’ve already taken, like having more persecutors, having the courts sit weekends, but this is a very serious situation.’ 

However, Chris Webb, the Labour MP for Blackpool South, said Sir Keir ‘has to have family time’. 

He told LBC’s Matthew Wright: ‘The government will continue and we’ve got an excellent Deputy Prime Minister. 

‘Keir has to have family time, there’s no doubt about it. Every Prime Minister has to have that family time and that break but from what I know of Keir – and I’ve met him many times, and sitting here in Blackpool several times – he will be continuing to work and monitor the situation wherever he is on holiday.’ 

Cities such as Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester and Belfast have seen vehicles burned, shops destroyed, pedestrians attacked and police officers injured this week following the Southport stabbings on Monday. 

Arrests have been made across the country, with police warning of more to come once CCTV, social media and body-worn camera footage has been scoured. 

There was violence on Saturday in towns and cities such as Hull, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Nottingham, Bristol, Manchester, Blackpool and Belfast, which saw several police officers injured. It followed a riot in Sunderland on Friday evening. 

A community library on the Merseyside that only opened last year after months of fundraising was set on fire last night as more than 300 people descended on the streets of a deprived city suburb.

Merseyside Police have charged two people with committing violent disorder in Liverpool city centre on Saturday.

Officers witnessed a group throwing stones, bricks and missiles at officers in the Paradise Street area.

Jimmy Bailey, 45, of Station Avenue, Ellesmere Port, has been charged with violent disorder.

He has been remanded into custody to appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court at 9.45am on Monday August 5.

Declan Geiran, 29, of Kelso Road, Liverpool, will appear at the same court after he was charged with violent disorder and arson (to a police vehicle).

An attempt was made to set a police van alight while it was parked in William Brown Street on Saturday.

The flames were quickly extinguished before significant damage or harm could be caused, the force said.

As firefighters tried to put on the flames that engulfed Spellow Lane Library Hub – which also functions as a food bank – rioters threw a missile at the engine, before breaking the rear window of a nearby cab.

Shocking photos from this morning show the burnt out interior of the library, with bookshelves tipped on their side, and glass surrounding the remaining computers.

One officer was shoved off his motorbike while another was looked after by colleagues after appearing shell-shocked following a violent confrontation with a protester.

Elsewhere, shameless looters took advantage of the violent mayhem, stealing everything from phones, shoes and wine from local shops.