The UK Far Right Riots Should Be of Concern, as Australia Is Awash with White Nationalists

The streets of the UK have been flooded with far-right rioting, looting and vicious targeted attacks upon Muslims and immigrants, as well as their properties and businesses, which was sparked by the killing of three girls and misinformation regarding the perpetrator.

Four hundred people have been arrested over more than a week of riots, which commenced on 30 July. And one man has been convicted over posting messages online linked to the riots, while another has been put away for three years over assaulting a police officer.

The UK Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has deemed the nationwide rioting a national emergency and the top prosecutor further warned that terrorism charges may be laid against some far-right actors.

The obvious, yet pointed, remark being repeatedly made is that if the riot’s targets, Muslims and immigrants, had been the actors taking to the streets, throwing projectiles, randomly beating on strangers and setting vehicles alite, it would automatically have been deemed terroristic in nature.

Yet, British politicians, just like their Australian counterparts, are loathe to label far-right, majority white, politically motivated violence as terrorism, even when all hallmarks are right before their eyes.

And this was all too apparent when, after close to a week of Muslims and immigrants being randomly set upon in the street and beaten up, newly minted UK prime minister Keir Starmer could only bring himself to label the “far right” politically motivated violence as “thuggery”.

Legal structures targeted

The major concerns regarding the UK far-right riots have been their ability to mobilise so effectively, in a coordinated manner, and that while race riots like the present have occurred in the past, there are more calculated acts of violence serving a clear far-right white nationalist agenda.

Thirty nine immigration law firms and agencies have been singled out online, calling for targeted violent attacks against them, which is a new phenomenon in the United Kingdom, whereby far-right anti-immigration actors are targeting the institutions facilitating the process of immigration itself.

“We’ve heard reports of this even going up to 45 and 60, but the ones we’ve seen are 39” law firms, Nick Emerson president of the Law Society of England and Wales told Channel 4.

“This is unprecedented. We appreciate that our members deliver a frontline service in an area of law that is subject to such angry debate, and we also appreciate that our members are literally on High Street, so their doors open up onto the pavement. So, we take this very seriously.”

In regard to a question about whether “this systematic, concerted campaign” had been foreseen, the top lawyer responded that we’ve “had a lot of attacks on lawyers and immigration lawyers” over the past couple of years and these have been from “members of the government” and even former PMs.

But the Law Society president suggested that the UK DPP “terrorism charges” call “could be” “too much”, but he supports it if any are laid.

Rising tactics and coordination

Most of the rioting and pogroms targeting Muslims and immigrants have occurred in England, but they’ve also been occurring in Wales and Northern Ireland. And there are key leaders within the movement with far-right agitator Tommy Robinson being one, and influencer Andrew Tate another.

Those being predominately set upon by violent far-right actors have been Muslim people, however immigrants in general have come under attack, as have Black British people. And similar messaging with lists of Muslim businesses to attack and destroy are being circulated and acted upon.

Other signs of the coordinated and escalating nature of these actions include Muslim graveyards being vandalised and several attempts made to burn down a number of centres housing asylum seekers, while immigration centres in general are being identified as areas for far-right actions.

On Wednesday, UK police were monitoring up to 100 sites for potential further actions but most never came to transpire.

Although masses of counterprotests filled the streets in the United Kingdom with antifascist, pro-diversity, pro-immigration and Free Palestine demonstrators taking to the streets.

Indeed, the far-right rioters have embraced support for Israel as part of their current campaign.

Probable terror threat, anybody?

But should the fact that far-right white nationalist terror is sweeping the United Kingdom be of concern to Australians?

Well, potentially, yes. Australian society, to a great extent, is a derivative of British society. The nation is a constitutional monarchy, and the King is technically head of state if one consults the Australian Constitution. The flag flies the Union Jack, and the coins have Charles’ head stamped on them.

And a week after the rioting began in Britian, the Albanese government turned up the Terrorism Threat Level from “possible” to “probable”, which was after 10 months of pro-Palestinian protests and direct actions at ports and weapons factories that haven’t warranted such designation.

Sure, PM Anthony Albanese took the opportunity of the announcement on Monday to point the finger at The Greens and the pro-Palestinian movement, especially the protest outside his office, as if this might be a motivator, but the fact of the matter is, this movement has been nonviolent all along.

And as ASIO head Mike Burgess told the 7.30 Report “not much” of the reasoning for the “probable” designation had anything to do with the Sunni Muslim terror threat he’d suggested in February. And in fact, there’s a concerning rise in young far right actors perpetrating or attempting terror acts.

White riot

Just as in Britian, far-right white nationalists have always been a part of the Australian community, and just like in the UK, these far-right extremists have been raising their voices ever-louder since Reclaim Australia started taking to the streets circa 2015.

And as for a history of race riots in this country, the Cronulla Riots of December 2005 saw white Australians attacking people of Muslim appearance because they wanted them off their beach turf. And three years later, former PM Scott Morrison became that region’s local federal member.

Reclaim Australia led to other iterations, such as the United Patriots Front. But these days, there appears to be two large networks, the National Socialist Network and the European Australian Movement, which consist of decentralised networks of small far right groups known as active clubs.

Burgess has advised since COVID that ASIO’s work is increasingly taken up by far-right actors, and this week, he explained one of his agency’s new priorities is “politically motivated violence”, which is not just terrorism but includes “any violent act” or threat of it intended “to achieve a political objective”.

“This includes violent protest, riot or an attack on a politician or our democratic institutions,” the top spy added.

Neo-Nazis have been demonstrating sporadically on the streets in urban centres in Australia since March last year. Yet, their numbers are never too impressive, so perhaps there’s no room for a UK style race riot in the Australian setting.

That’s unless those who took to the streets in droves as part of the Freedom Movement during COVID are factored in as potential far-right-leaning individuals, who might just be influenced to join such “violent protest” actions.