Live broadcast of the riots in the UK today: dozens of anti-racism rallies are planned, and the far-right riots have led to more than 700 arrests

An anti-racism rally is to take place in Belfast later on Saturday following a week of anti-immigrant riots and chaos.

The demonstration, organized by the United Against Racism, will begin at Writers’ Square at noon and then march to City Hall.

Around a thousand people gathered in the city on Friday night to oppose hundreds of anti-immigrant demonstrators.

A heavy police presence was deployed and barriers were set up at Belfast City Hall to separate the two groups, while Donegal Square North and Wellington Square were closed to traffic for several hours.

People taking part in the anti-immigration protest held signs saying “Shankill Road, no illegal immigrants” and chanted slogans such as “Send them home”.

In Aldershot, Hampshire, police have charged five men following a protest on Wednesday that left a police officer injured.

Joe Howell, 19, Kieron Marney, 25, Perrie Fisher, 28, Cameron Bowling, 40, and Clive Patfield, 60, are due to appear at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on August 13 charged with violent disorder.

Northumberland Police has confirmed that a number of additional legal powers have been implemented to ensure the safety of the public in Newcastle today.

In a post on social media this morning, police assured: “To help us keep the community safe today, we have issued a legal order allowing police to control the movements of people taking part in today’s protest. Demonstrators will be confined to Bigg Market and Newgate Street.

“We have also introduced a separate legal order to give police greater stop and search powers, allowing them to search people and vehicles for weapons. We will require anyone in the following areas to remove a face covering used to conceal their identity.

“These measures are in place to protect those who visit and live in Newcastle, and we have every available police presence on our streets and we are doing everything we can to ensure no serious incident occurs today.”

A man has been charged with causing a violent disorder and assaulting emergency workers in Solihull, West Midlands.

Adam Turner, 38, from Birmingham, was arrested and charged on Friday. He was remanded in custody to appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

West Midlands Police said a glass was thrown at an officer in Damson Lane on Sunday, August 4, as officers were dealing with a large gathering in the area, but no one was injured.

Dozens of anti-racism rallies are planned across the UK today as far-right violence sweeping the country has left more than 700 people arrested.

Up to 22 demonstrations are set to take place today in towns including Portsmouth, Newcastle, Manchester, Oxford and Cardiff.

Campaign group Stand Up to Racism also plans to hold a rally outside the political office of the Reform Party in the UK, accusing Nigel Farage of “inciting fascist thugs.”

The wife of a Conservative MP will appear in court today accused of inciting racial hatred online.

Lucy Connolly, 41, was arrested on Tuesday evening and bailed pending further inquiries.

Those investigations led to her being arrested again yesterday and charged with one count of publishing written material inciting racial hatred.

Earlier, she wrote in a now-deleted post on the X account: “Mass deportations now, burn down all the f**king hotels full of assholes, I don’t give a shit…if that makes me a racist, then so be it.”

On July 29, a knife attack in Southport, Merseyside, sparked an outbreak of far-right violence across the country, with up to 741 people arrested.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said some 302 people had been charged for offences including violent disorder, theft and anti-social behaviour.

Chief Superintendent Gavin Stephens, chairman of the NPCC, said: “We are working hard to bring this unrest to an end but the arrests have only just begun and we have already made hundreds of arrests.”

“After a community that has suffered so much violence and online hate spread, we will not stop working until they get the justice they deserve.”

Meanwhile, 6,000 public order officers remain on standby to deal with further disorder over the weekend.

Two more people have been charged following violent disorder at Liverpool’s South Port, bringing the total number of people charged to 24, according to Merseyside Police.

Andrew McIntyre, 39, has been charged with encouraging murder, encouraging a violent disorder and possession of a knife.

A 16-year-old has also been charged with causing a violent disorder in Liverpool city centre, two counts of burglary, criminal damage to a police car and assaulting an emergency worker.

Pre-Twitter It has been criticised for causing unrest in many towns and cities due to false information and hate speech, with nearly 500 people arrested so far.

After three children were stabbed to death and eight others injured in Southport, a fictitious identity of a Muslim asylum seeker was wrongly identified as a suspect, sparking a wave of Islamophobia, including an attack on a mosque in the town.

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