Muslim advocacy and community groups have joined a call from Humza Yousaf to proscribe the English Defence League as a terrorist organisation after the violent clashes in Southport last night.
The former Scottish first minister has urged the government to “deal” with Britain’s “far-right problem” and the “evil ideology” behind it.
Merseyside Police said “a large group of people – believed to be supporters of the English Defence League” – began to throw items such as bricks towards the mosque in the town at around 7.45pm. These clashes followed an emotional vigil for three girls killed and ten others injured in a knife attack on Monday.
In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Yousaf expressed “anger that a group of far-right bigots chose to hijack the killing of children for their own nefarious purposes”. He said that there was “no doubt” that the EDL’s actions meet the definition of terrorism as set out by the Terrorism Act 2000.
The Act states that terrorism is the use or threat of action which: involves serious violence against a person; involves serious damage to property; endangers a person’s life (other than that of the person committing the act); creates a serious risk to the health and safety of the public or section of the public or is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously disrupt an electronic system.
The Muslim Association of Britain praised Yousaf, who was Scotland’s first Muslim first minister, for his letter and called for swift action from the government. They said that “far right groups have long intimidated, threatened and terrorised our communities.” “Enough is enough,” they added.
Yousaf’s letter was also welcomed by Zara Mohammed, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain”, who described “the attacks on police officers, a mosque and destruction to local communities” as “all completely unlawful [and] have left so many wounded and hurt.”
Members of the local Southport community came together on Wednesday to help the clean-up of Southport and the reparation of a local mosque following the violent riots.
Southport MP Patrick Hurley said that rioters were “utterly disrespecting the families of the dead and injured children” and must face the “full force of the law”.
Doubt has been thrown on the assessment of Merseyside Police that the protestors belonged to the EDL. The Director of Research at HOPE not Hate, a leading campaign against the far right, said on X that although rioters were Tommy Robinson “supporters”, “the English Defence League doesn’t exist anymore and Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson) hasn’t been involved with it since 2013. However, associates of Lennon were in Southport and rioters chanted his name.”
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