People opposing and supporting asylum seekers in the UK gathered for competing rallies at the government district of Croydon in South London. Tensions escalated into an altercation with the police.
The scuffle happened outside Lunar House, which hosts the immigration division of the Home Office. A group of people with a pro-refugee stance clashed with police officers keeping them away from a small anti-immigrant rally.
The Croydon location was picked for a demonstration by people concerned with the rising number of immigrants arriving in the country. Their reluctance to see more arrivals of foreigners has been fuelled lately by a record number of attempts to cross the English Channel by asylum seekers, which was reported last week, and evacuations from Afghanistan.
Demonstrating on the other side of the police line were a significantly larger number of people, who showed up for a counter-protest. Those activists want refugees to be widely accepted in the UK and consider people with the opposite view racists.
Fantastic to see people out on the streets of #Croydon against the Far Right and in #Solidarity with #Afghan #Refugees – #RefugeesWelcome #Afghanistan #AfghanistanCrisis pic.twitter.com/hWDr4RQu7B
— Stand Up To Racism (@AntiRacismDay) September 4, 2021
They carried a large black banner declaring their position and chanted slogans like ‘Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcomed here’.
Some of the counter-protesters appeared quite angry at the police officers who kept the groups separated. The police were accused of “protecting fascists” from the self-identified “anti-fascists.” The scuffle happened after tempers ran particularly high.
More problems. Chants of police protect the fascists and ACAB. pic.twitter.com/iJcdlCxMuz
— Chris Hobbs (@obbsie) September 4, 2021
This afternoon I’m covering the Far right protest outside of Lunar House Croydon and related counter demos. pic.twitter.com/x7un7NjfDv
— Whitty photography (@thewhittyphoto) September 4, 2021
Antifa are stopped by police before they can get to a Home Office building in Croydon (south London). They rallied their comrades to call for open borders. pic.twitter.com/fd0z1X144c
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) September 4, 2021
The anti-immigrant crowd dismissed their detractors as “rent-a-mob anarchists.”