LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday Britain would not tolerate people feeling intimidated “because of their background or the color of their skin” after a large far-right protest was marked by battles with police.
In his first comments on Saturday’s rally organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson and attended by up to 150,000 people, according to police, Starmer also condemned attacks on police on officers.
The clashes left 26 officers injured, four seriously, and led to 24 arrests. London police have pledged to make more arrests in coming days.
“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” Starmer said on X, the day after the protesters massed near his Downing Street office amid a sea of English and British flags.
“But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the color of their skin.”
The leader of the center-left Labour government, who was the target of persistent criticism at the rally, added “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect.”
“Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division,” Starmer said.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it had so far arrested 24 people after officers faced “unacceptable violence” trying to control up to 150,000 people at the event.
That was two fewer arrests than the force last reported, after discovering what it called “two duplicate records.”
Twenty-six police were injured, four seriously, in clashes on the fringes of Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” rally.
Of those arrested, three were women and 21 were men, with the oldest person arrested aged 58 and the youngest 19 years-old, according to police.
It said alleged offenses included common assault, criminal damage, assault on an emergency worker, and possession of an offensive weapon, noting a number of people were arrested on suspicion of more than one offense.
“A post-event investigation is under way, with officers working to identify other people involved in disorder with a view to making further arrests in the coming days and weeks,” the force added.
The attacks on police occurred after some activists tried to enter sealed off areas near counter-protesters at a Stand Up to Racism march which had ended close by, according to the Met.
Officers were “assaulted with kicks and punches” while “bottles, flares and other projectiles were thrown,” it said.
Protesters at Robinson’s event had marched over Westminster Bridge before rallying near Downing Street for speeches by figures associated with the far right from across Europe and North America, including billionaire tycoon Elon Musk.
In an address by video, the X owner called for the dissolution of Britain’s parliament and the replacement of the center-left Labour government while claiming “violence is coming to you.”
“You either fight back or you die,” he told the crowds.
Assessing the speeches and attendees, anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate called the event Britain’s largest ever far-right protest.
“Seeing such a big crowd cheering speeches that called for banning all public expression of non-Christian religions, demanded the ‘remigration’ of legal migrants... and claimed Britain is being ‘invaded’ and its population ‘replaced’ is unprecedented,” it said.
“For anyone worried about the rise of far-right activism and the normalization of viciously anti-migrant, anti-Muslim sentiment, it could be a sign of dark times to come.”
Starmer: UK won’t tolerate racial intimidation after far-right rally
https://arab.news/4nefz
Starmer: UK won’t tolerate racial intimidation after far-right rally
- Police were attacked during a far-right rally in London attended by up to 150,000 people
- British PM says people have right to peaceful protest but won't stand for intimidating people because of skin color
New deadly clashes break out on Afghanistan-Pakistan border despite truce
- At least 5 people were killed, 5 injured on the Afghan side, Taliban authorities say
- Latest clash comes amid reports of back-channel negotiations between the two countries
KABUL: Overnight border clashes have broken out between Afghan and Pakistani forces, authorities in Afghanistan said on Saturday, as tensions between the neighbors escalated following a fragile ceasefire.
The latest exchange of fire that spanned Spin Boldak and Chaman, a key crossing between southeastern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and Pakistan’s Balochistan, marked violations of a ceasefire that has been in place since October.
The truce brokered by Qatar and Turkey has mostly held for the past two months, after dozens were killed on both sides in what was the deadliest confrontation in years between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
But heavy gunfire and shelling erupted again late on Friday, with each side blaming the other for sparking the deadly violence.
“Unfortunately, last night the Pakistani side once again attacked Spin Boldak in Kandahar. The forces of the Islamic Emirate had to respond,” Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of Afghanistan’s Taliban government, told Arab News on Saturday.
He said five people on the Afghan side — including four civilians — were killed in the violence, while five others were injured.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, said that the Taliban “resorted to unprovoked firing” along their shared border.
“An immediate, befitting & intense response has been given by our armed forces. Pakistan remains fully alert & committed to ensuring its territorial integrity & the safety of our citizens,” he wrote on X.
Local residents in Spin Boldak told Arab News that Friday’s clashes forced families to flee their homes.
“Mortars and bullets smashed into houses and public places,” Samiullah Malang said. “It was difficult … (to) watch women and children flee on motorbikes, tractors and on foot in the cold night.”
Although the fighting largely subsided around midnight, sporadic gunfire continued into the morning, he added.
The overnight violence also reached the Friendship Gate, an official crossing point between Spin Boldak and Chaman, which was closed by Pakistan authorities after the fighting.
Clashes at the border have led to repeated closures of the key border crossing, devastating commerce and disrupting the movement of thousands.
“Every time Pakistan shuts the gate, our fruits rot inside the trucks,” said Afghan businessman Haji Rahmatullah. “Hotels are filled with patients waiting to cross for treatment.”
After the ceasefire agreement in October, subsequent talks for a long-term truce have so far yielded little progress. The latest deadly exchange of fire comes amid reports of back-channel negotiations between Afghan and Pakistani officials, which neither governments have openly confirmed.
Both sides remain deeply divided on core security issues and repeated clashes highlight the absence of an effective de-escalation mechanism, according to Asad Waheedi, a political analyst based in Kabul.
“The talks are not bearing fruit because the demands are unrealistic,” he said. “Pakistan asks the Taliban to guarantee the security of their country. This is impossible. Even when America had all its troops here, it could not guarantee Afghanistan’s security. The Taliban have no presence there (in Pakistan). It is an impractical demand.”
Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line — their 2,640-km border — have occurred for decades but intensified after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, following the withdrawal of US-led troops.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering fighters from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and allowing them to stage cross-border attacks — a charge Afghanistan denies, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
The deadly violence in October was triggered by an unclaimed explosion in Kabul and another in the southeastern province of Paktika, for which the Afghan government blamed the Pakistani military.
“The facts show that the distance between them is huge,” Waheedi said. “Until the demands become practical, these talks will go nowhere, and the fighting will continue.”
