Anti-immigration protests escalated across the United Kingdom on Saturday, with rival demonstrators clashing briefly in Manchester and police arresting nine people outside a London hotel housing asylum seekers.
In central Manchester, demonstrators calling for mass "remigration" gathered for a march organised by the far-right group Britain First. They were confronted by anti-racism counter-protesters, and the two groups clashed briefly at the start of the protest before police split them up, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
"Send them back, don't let them in — just stop them coming in, we've got hotels full of immigrants and we've got our own homeless people in the streets begging for food but nowhere to live," said protester Brendan O'Reilly, 66.
Counter-protester Judy, a 60-year-old retired nurse, told AFP she was there "because I don't want to see people full of hate on the streets of Manchester." Asked what the marchers wanted, she said: "Do they want them all to go back or is it just people with brown skin? I suspect it's just people with brown skin that they want to re-migrate."
Nine arrests in London
In central London, rival demonstrators converged outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in the Barbican neighbourhood, following similar recent events that have occasionally turned violent. Clashes erupted before police intervened.
The Metropolitan Police said officers cleared a junction where counter-protesters had assembled in breach of the conditions in place. "There have been nine arrests so far, with seven for breaching Public Order Act conditions," the force said.
Migration dominates the political debate
The street confrontations come as migration dominates British politics. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told the Sunday Times this weekend he was open to a debate about readopting the European Union's free-movement rules, saying the nature of immigration into Britain had been "different" since Brexit, with more foreigners moving permanently rather than returning to their home countries.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called Burnham's position a "total betrayal" of voters who supported Brexit, while Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said there could be no return to free movement. "The British people voted to end free movement, and there can be no return to it," Philp said.
The protests also follow a massive "Unite the Kingdom" rally in London organised by anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson, which drew an estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people, with 25 arrests and 26 police officers injured in violent clashes near Whitehall.
Why it matters
Britain's immigration debate is no longer confined to Parliament — it is playing out on the streets of Manchester, London and Epping, with rival crowds facing off outside hotels and in city centres. With the government under pressure over asylum hotels, detention centres and record migration figures, each weekend brings a new flashpoint — and each one pushes the issue further to the centre of British politics.
Reporting based on AFP.