Who is behind the far-right riots in Britain?

Sir Keir Starmer wants to end the far-right violence that is spreading across Britain.

The first question the Prime Minister must answer is not 'how' but 'who'.

Dozens of protests are planned this weekend, and efforts to quell the unrest have been complicated by the way the far right has evolved into a more fragmented, personality-driven splinter group, away from traditionally racist outlets like the no-longer-existent British National Party.

Their ability to incite spontaneous protests and spread misinformation was facilitated by viral online posts and recommendation algorithms on TikTok and X, as well as dedicated Telegram channels.

Paul Jackson, professor of the history of radicalism and extremism at the University of Northampton, said that instead of a single group that could be banned or sanctioned, police now faced a vague antagonist. A broader mesh of factions and personalities with the ability to find common cause and organise spontaneously was greatly enhanced by social media.

Keir Starmer warned social media platforms this week that incitement explicitly promoted online is also a crime. Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg

The Prime Minister warned social media platforms this week that incitement explicitly promoted online is a crime and that is what is happening on these platforms.

Riots that began on Tuesday after the murder of three young girls in Southport, near Liverpool, have escalated into Britain's most widespread far-right violence in years.

Protests have taken place from Hartlepool to Downing Street, and more than 130 people have been arrested across the country so far.

However, it was initially unknown who was behind this meeting.

When rioters first attacked a Southport mosque on Tuesday night, throwing bricks at police and blaming immigrants and Islam for the mass stabbing of young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class the day before, Merseyside police initially pointed the finger at the UK Defence Alliance.

There have been calls to ban the EDL, founded by far-right activist Stephen Exley-Lennon (better known as Tommy Robinson). But experts say the EDL officially ceased to exist more than a decade ago, despite being seen at the riots, including by members of neo-Nazi group Patriotic Alternative, at least one of Robinson’s followers.

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson speaks at a rally in central London on Saturday Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters

Jackson said the far-right was already on the rise before Monday’s mass stabbing. Followers of Tommy Robinson were buoyed by a rally he held last Saturday, the largest far-right rally in London in years, which drew 30,000 people.

Jackson said what was more worrying was that the central themes of these far-right activists, particularly their vilification of immigrants, had spread into mainstream opinion, including to members of Rishi Sunak's immediate Conservative government.

When more mainstream politicians say similar things, they give permission to smaller groups, giving them greater legitimacy and purchasing power, Jackson added.

Within hours of the attack in Southport on Monday, Nigel Farage, the leader of the anti-immigration Reform Party and current MP, posted a video online suggesting police had withheld information about the stabbing.

Jackson said the far right is stoking mistrust.

People gather as protests begin in Whitehall, London, following the stabbing deaths of three children in Southport on Wednesday. Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

The protest, which featured chants of 'Stop the Boats' by Rishi Sunak, was originally sparked by the murder of three girls, aged six, seven and nine, and the stabbing of several others in Southport on Monday.

But with the early intervention of far-right influencers and conspiracy theorists online, including Robinson, his ally Danny Tomo, Reclaim party leader Laurence Fox and influencer Andrew Tate, they adopted a broader anti-Islam, anti-immigrant theme.

Joe Mulhall, senior researcher at anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate, writes that the outrage that erupted in Southport was a toxic cocktail of raw and understandable fear of the brutal child murders, deep-rooted societal Islamophobia and misinformation spread by influencers seeking to stoke tensions.

The advocacy group’s campaign director, George Laming, said this week that many of the people who made things worse were previously banned from X. She said they are now back after self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist Elon Musk acquired the social media company and lifted several of the bans.

The 17-year-old suspect in the Southport murders, who was charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, was neither Muslim nor immigrant. Axel Rudakubana, who took his name after a judge lifted reporting restrictions because of his age, was born in Cardiff to parents who immigrated from Rwanda.

But posts on major social media platforms helped mobilize people at scale by sharing hateful misinformation about the attackers' identities, said Hana Rose, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.

Shortly after Monday's attack, fake names began circulating on X, along with posts claiming the attacker had recently arrived in the UK on a small boat and was Muslim.

According to ISD, by 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the day after the attack, the fake name X had been mentioned more than 30,000 times across more than 18,000 unique accounts, including those with a verified checkmark.

Infographics promoting the protests in Southport and Whitehall were also shared on TikTok and Dubai-based messaging app Telegram, while details about the organisation were shared on X.

Riot police clear protesters near a burning police vehicle after chaos broke out in Southport on Tuesday Getty Images

Recommendation algorithms that typically promote posts with high engagement or high likelihood of engagement help amplify misinformation about attackers.

Rose said the publicly hateful post was widely circulated on X for hours, despite it violating the platform’s policies. Neither TikTok nor X responded to requests for comment.

Hope Not Hate has tracked plans for more than 30 far-right protests in towns and cities across the UK this weekend, but Laming said there was no single organiser for these events.

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