Businesses in the centre of Brighton are boarding up today amid fears far-right race rioters are set to come to Brighton this evening.
A firm of solicitors is one of several locations across the country identified – usually wrongly – as “immigration centres” on a far-right chat group on the private messaging app Telegram.
The list of supposed targets was accompanied by flame emojis, and said: “They won’t stop coming until you tell them. No more immigration.” The Times has reported that arson manuals are also being shared on the group.
One business owner very close to the law firm – which Brighton and Hove News is not naming – said he had been visited by police officers who had advised him to close early today – advice he will be following.
The business owner, Graham, said: “We have had the police in. They advised us to pack up and leave early and work from home where we can.
“I had already arranged to close down at 2pm. I’ll be keeping an eye on the situation after that.”
Workers at another nearby business said they had also been told to close early and go home.
The Prince Albert pub has cancelled its gigs tonight and will be closing early, as will the Brighton Station walk-in clinic, which is usually open until 8pm.
Practice Plus, which runs the clinic, said: “Unfortunately our service will close at 5pm prompt tonight in order to help ensure the safety of both our patients and staff.”
Hope Not Hate, an anti-racist organisation which has been monitoring the riots across the country, said today: “Any services named should be on high alert.
“If you’re planning to attend a counter demonstration please be positive, peaceful and safe. Don’t let the far right bate you and your community into lashing out.
“The list was shared by an anonymous fascist who also instigated anti-Muslim violence in Southport and Liverpool last week.
“This individual also called for the assassinations of public figures and is trying to spread chaos, violence and far-right thuggery as far as possible.
“The ‘hit list’ of targets publicise the names and locations of offices relating to immigration and asylum services around the country.
“This list has been made and shared precisely to spread distress and fear within Muslim and immigrant communities, hoping to provoke a response.”
Meanwhile, Stand Up to Racism is planning a counter-protest in the city centre which hundreds of people have said they will attend.
Yesterday, Sussex Police’s assistant chief constable Paul Court said: “We continue to closely monitor the situation. To those considering taking part, we say do not do it because we will make people regret their actions
“If people partake in disorder we will use every power we hav to make sure they are held accountable.
“There are prison cells available and we are actively looking at all the other powers we have to hold them to account.”
This morning, council leader Bella Sankey said: “We are aware of growing public concern following the recent criminal disorder seen across the country, the unverified reports circulating about potential activity in the city and unsolicited leaflets being shared in some areas.
“I would like to reassure residents and visitors that the council is working closely with Sussex Police and other partners to identify any emerging concerns, and keep our residents, staff, community partners and businesses safe.”
“There are prison cells available and we are actively looking at all the other powers we have to hold them to account.”
Strange that cells and powers weren’t available when pro-Palestinian demonstrators were marching through London holding placards that said ‘J*ws to the gas’, Gas the J*ws’ and ‘God Bless Zyclon-B’ and carrying Swast*ka flags….
Because that didn’t happen. Whataboutism doesn’t justify the current thick as mince thugs destroying, looting and attacking people.
Please do not support the far-right idiots, plenty of videos on YouTube showing ‘individuals’ holding placards saying ‘J*ws to the gas’. If you can’t find them yourself, maybe get a staff member to help you?
I would like to see the proof to your claims. Or you are one of those who are spreading misinformation.
It didn’t happen , and there are lots of Jewish people on the marches.
So you endorse the violence and thuggery happening now? Your argument would have actual weight, and not look like a cheap right-wing misinformation tactic, if you actually said the rioters now are bad people. But you won’t, because you’re one of them, spreading misinformation. Do you never wonder, when you have to lie to convince people to support you, that you might be the bad guys?
Knuckle dragging morons. They’re entitled to whatever views they hold, but running around like animals smashing the country up isn’t going to solve anything. It’s certainly not going to bring those poor girls back. These far right apes make me ashamed to be English.
Can they all just leave Brighton out of it? We all mostly get on here and don’t want far right and far left extremists smashing the town up. They are all fascists under different flags baiting each other.
Exactly, though we do have extremism in Brighton, and extremism of one type will promote extremism on another.
What has been missing for a long time is respect for another point of view, so now we have this. Both sides are to blame.
We are lucky to have a democracy that works as well as can be expected, and it’s when one side throw the toys out of the pram and refuse to accept the outcome of a democratic vote that it all goes wrong (the Greens again, especially Sian Berry interfering with Pride).
I hope the good and peaceful people of Brighton will prevail and we can illustrate that we do not subscribe to hate-mongering of any type in this city. I fear that the accusations of two-tier policing may be correct. We have a long way to go still.
I fear you’re perpetuating the two tier conspiracy theory, but you likely know that.
Funny, all these riots happening so soon after Labour was elected, calls to dissolve the government and of course the new favourite two-tier fantasy. It’s almost as if the far-right aren’t accepting the election outcome and throwing their toys out of the pram. Guess far-righters can’t smell their own hypocrisy. Or just trying to spread misinformation to gain support, again with the intention of undermining democracy.
Both sides aren’t to blame. That’s the usual far right tactic of doing bad things, then using misinformation to pretend the other side is doing the same. That’s how you give yourself away, and it only works on really stupid people, you won’t find much support in Brighton. I mean come on, the far-right are literally throwing their toys out of the pram, to use your phrase, and you point to the Greens!?? Insane.
I actually can’t think of a better way to cause the casually immigration-questioning floating public to decide to stand alongside our non-white brothers and sisters.
I know that it has caused me to conclude that I stand with them, and that I stand against the dole-scrounging knuckle-draggers draped in Eng-er-lesh flags.
It’s the usual dole monkeys who think they have hard done by, by the system. So want to riot, When in fact they are just to lazy to get of the sofa and get a job. Jail should be backed up with hard labour. Manually digging roads, that would bring the cost of the Arundel bypass down lol