More clashes and arrests at UK immigration protests

MANCHESTER (AFP): Further scuffles broke out at anti-immigration protests in the UK on Saturday, with police making several arrests.

Demonstrators calling for mass “remigration” gathered in central Manchester, northwest England, for a march organized by the far-right “Britain First” group, which was confronted by anti-racism groups.

Meanwhile in central London, rival demonstrators converged outside a hotel housing asylum seekers, following similar recent events that have occasionally turned violent.

In Manchester, 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.”

“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,” she added.

In London, similar clashes erupted outside a hotel in the Barbican neighborhood before police intervened.

Metropolitan Police wrote on X that officers had 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,” added the force.

There have been several flashpoints around the UK in recent weeks, most notably in the north-east London neighborhood of Epping.