‘Two-Tier’ Justice Or Two-Tier Punditry?

James Bloodworth reports

By 7pm on 30 July 2024, small groups of white men had begun to congregate outside one of Southport’s mosques. Some were wearing hoodies and masks. Chants of “English till I die” and “no surrender” rang out from the terraced backstreets as a police helicopter buzzed overhead.

A few miles down the road, a vigil for the three murdered girls was taking place. There, in a striking contrast, the mood was sombre and serious.

By 7.45pm, things had begun to escalate. Men had started to pelt the mosque with stones and bottles. Riot police arrived and were attacked with projectiles and fireworks. Local shops were broken into and looted. A police van was set on fire. One officer suffered a broken nose.

Merseyside Police told the media that the trouble had been started by members of the English Defence League, a far-right group that had officially disbanded several years earlier. Once again, police urged people not to speculate on social media about the identity of the Southport suspect – who, they reiterated, was born in the UK.