Skirmishes and simmering tensions as Blackpool protest in wake of Southport attacks takes place

“Thugs (and) racists not welcome” banners welcome handful of protest group amid heavy police presence

By Ed Walker, first published on 3 August 2024

Punks squared up against protesters in Blackpool town centre amid nationwide tensions seemingly sparked by the stabbing of children in Southport.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the town hall in Talbot Square to voice their dissent - but proceedings threatened to spill over into violence amid a counter-protest from revellers in the Lancashire seaside resort for the annual punk Rebellion weekend.

The protest was set for 3pm and, 90 minutes before, only a handful of people were gathered close to the war memorial and Metropole hotel on the Prom, which was chosen by the government to house asylum seekers. They were equalled in number by police officers, who were on horseback and positioned between the protesters and the hotel. You can see our further update from the Blackpool protest as police make arrests.

Five flags were being flown: a St George’s flag emblazoned with the words “Save our children”; the Israeli flag; Ukraine's flag; a smaller Union Flag; and a black and white flag with the words “Lest we forget”.

There was no sign of trouble, with just seven men gathered. Some stood talking while others sat in camping chairs. No chanting was heard and no emotion observed.

There were subtle signs of police preparation, however, with an increased presence along the seafront, and some not so subtle, with four riot vans parked in Market Street, around the corner from the planned protest spot - outside the town hall in Talbot Square.

The sun was shining and the mercury hovering at around 18 degrees Celsius. Door staff at one town centre bar spoke in hushed tones about people packing into bars to summon some Dutch courage.

And by 2.30pm, tensions were simmering over.

Punks - in town for the annual Rebellion festival - squared off against men in football shirts, separated only by police.

“England ‘till I die” and “We want our country back,” crowds chanted, alongside: “Oh, Tommy Robinson,” and “Protect our kids.”

“Where the f*** were you in Leeds?” Others shouted.

Counter-protesters returned verbal volleys of: “Nazi scum off our streets” as bottles were thrown and minor skirmishes broke out.

One woman holding a placard saying “Thugs (and) racists not welcome” had it torn from her hands as crowds pushed from the town hall to the Metropole and as sirens filled the summer air.

By 3.30pm on Saturday (3 August) the groups had been largely dispersed and a large police presence remained across Blackpool town centre.

But things threatened to boil over again at about 3.30pm as officers moved to protect the war memorial and Metropole. The Prom was closed and a line of police stood between the main protesters and those against them.

Shortly before 4pm, police on horseback galloped towards the Tower, while officers in unmarked cars drove down the tramtracks.

A protest march then proceeded, at relative speed, through the streets, including the Houndshill Shopping Centre, where some shops closed their shutters quickly, to Corporation Street and back to the town hall, where a thrown bottle smashed a car window and police used dogs and horses to put the crowd back.

A dispersal order remains in force for much of Blackpool town centre - called a section-34 - which means police have additional powers to ask people to leave the area.

The order runs from the promenade to the junction with Dickson Road, Devonshire Road, Whitegate Drive and Waterloo Road. It's in force until 10pm on Saturday evening.

Protests have taken place in a number of towns and cities across the UK since Monday's attack in Southport which left three children dead.

17-year-old Axel Rudakubana was charged with the murder of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar and a further ten counts of attempted murder for attacks on other children and adults attending the Taylor Swift dance and yoga session in Hart Street. He also attacked a number of adults who attempted to stop the attack.

During Saturday protests took place in Manchester, Belfast, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Leeds, and Hull and it follows disorder and violence in Sunderland on Friday night which left police officers injured.

The protests began on Tuesday when a 'peaceful protest' outside a mosque in Southport descended into violence with dozens of police officers injured, shops looted, police vans set alight and bricks thrown at police.