Walthamstow riot nowhere to be seen as counter-protest defends city from chaos

A far-right protest was expected in Walthamstow on Thursday night.

The north-east London town was included in a list of 39 towns and cities around the UK suspected of being on a far-right ‘hit-list’. It included the addresses of immigration centres in each location – some of which don’t even exist.

Violence and vandalism first erupted in Southport following the spread of misinformation regarding the suspect arrested for stabbing three young girls to death on July 29.

Reporting from the scene at around 8pm, was Daily Star Senior News Reporter Harry Thompson who arrived from the underground to scores of counter-protesters and police cordoning off sections of the road.

Harry commented: “All the roads around the station are quiet, it’s blocked off. There’s a big police presence, it’s all organise and pretty calm at the crossroads at the centre of Walthamstow.”

Like so many other places tonight which had braced for violence witnessed over the past week or so in the likes of Southport and Middlesbrough, it was in fact only anti-racists who lined the streets.

Continuing to describe the state of Walthamstow on Thursday evening, Harry said: “There’s a big crowd, many hundreds of people, cant see how big it is, it goes around corners, it’s large, could be a thousand I’m not sure.

“Generally speaking it’s a quiet environment. There’s a few people loitering around the edges with masks and stuff but I think they’re just there without a purpose. Generally speaking, the vibe is really good.

“There’ve been chants of ‘this is what community looks like’ and currently all very peaceful. There are signs everywhere like ‘Nazi scum’, that kind of vibe as well.”

Despite the relaxed nature of events, Harry spotted potential of tensions boiling over from a few individuals.

“Some people have turned up with a bit of an edge. I’ve seen some people with things they could easily pull over their faces and saw a guy with a helmet as well,” Harry said.

The epicentre of the protest was around the immigration bureau detailed in the so-called ‘hit list’ as where the far-right protest was meant to start.

Harry said: “You can quite clearly see that’s where people have congregated the most, the counter protest has blocked out the street around the immigration bureau. There’s no way anyone’s getting in there. It’s busy.

Jim from Unite the Union told Harry: “I’m a trade unionist and I’ve been disgusted by the events I’ve seen unfolding over the last seven/ eight days after Southport. I thought I had to come down and protest against these threats against these fascists and that’s what they are, we don’t want them in Walthamstow, east London, London.

“We’ve got to make sure this stops you know, and we’re here to make sure it does. I’m very, very proud of the fact we’ve got about 45,000 people on this very local, very last minute initiative and you know what, people should be doing this throughout the UK.”

Bob who was also in among the crowd, said: “I’m really inspired by what’s happening here, seeing the numbers of people here is fantastic.”

A MET Police spokesperson earlier told the Daily Star: “We’re not discussing specifics but we have said: ‘We will use every power, tactic and tool available to prevent further scenes of disorder.’ Of course, that will include doing whatever we can to identify anyone who commits criminal acts.”