Violence broke out in London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Rotherham, Nottingham, Belfast, and elsewhere over the weekend — and spread rapidly to other areas this week — after the murder of three girls at a children’s dance party in Southport on 29 July (News, 2 August).
Speaking on the Radio 4 Today programme on Tuesday, Archbishop Welby said that, while he had not experienced what the families in Southport were going through, he and his wife had lost a child. “All I remember is that it is the most overwhelming, dominating thing that could happen to you. The whole world changes.
“And the last thing you want is for this to be instrumentalised by people far away choosing to turn this into a cause of criminality, rioting — not protest, that’s something completely different — of trying to cause a breakdown of unity.”
He said: “What you want is your friends and family and community, as Southport is doing, surrounding you, supporting you, loving you.”
Mosques, and hotels in which refugees and asylum-seekers are being temporarily housed, were among the buildings targeted by rioters.
Police forces reported that hundreds of arrests had been made, including for and in connection with serious violent disorder and racially aggravated assault, after police cars were set alight and dozens of police officers have been injured in the violence.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, told the BBC on Tuesday that many would face immediate imprisonment. “There should be no doubt about that. They are going to prison. We are willing to look at terrorism offences. I’m aware of at least one instance where that is happening.”
The protests, which by Tuesday had spread to other cities, including Plymouth, Weymouth, and Birmingham, have been triggered by far-right groups, who have targeted immigrants, and spread false rumours online that the 17-year-old man charged with the murders — named in court last week as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana — was an asylum-seeker. Merseyside Police confirmed last week that he had been born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents. A plea and trial preparation hearing has been set for Friday 25 October at Liverpool Crown Court.
Archbishop Welby said of the misinformation: “What is happening here is manipulation — we know that — by people on social media, people abroad, and that needs to be strongly resisted. The reality is that the person who [allegedly] attacked these little girls in Southport was born in the UK, he was not an asylum-seeker. . .
“There is a use of people in this way which is the most ridiculous, appalling, and immoral thing. . . They [the rioters] talk about defending this country’s Christian values. . . Jesus said: ‘Love God, love your neighbour, love your enemy.’ And when he was asked who your neighbour is, the example he gave was someone who had been an historic enemy of the Jews.”
Speaking of the behaviour of the rioters, Archbishop Welby said: “This is not the UK, it is not British, it is not English — they defile the flag that they wrap themselves in. . . Protest is good and is right, and is fundamental to all our freedoms, but peaceful protest will have tens of thousands of times the impact that this violence is having.”
Being marginalised, and living in areas of deprivation and high unemployment “does not in any way justify this violence”, he said. “Quite the reverse. But it does justify peaceful protest and that will make people listen.”
He continued: “We need a moral vision for this country, which does exist, which is peaceful and united – we are incredibly diverse but we stick to one another, and that we are capable of leading the world and sharing the common good in this country.”
Police were reacting to the outbreaks, and what was not being reported, he suggested, was “the extraordinary cohesion and caring for neighbour that is going on all round the country in the wake of these riots and face-to-face with these riots. . .
“We are seeing the Church, the churches, and the faiths, and people of no faith turning out, cleaning up the streets, supporting people.”
The Archbishop, with other faith leaders, co-signed a letter published in The Times on Tuesday condemning the targeting of Muslim communities. “Over the last few days we have watched in horror as a small minority has brought hatred, violence and vandalism to towns and cities across the country. We have seen anti-Muslim hatred and the targeting of mosques; asylum-seekers and refugees attacked; violence directed towards the police and private property, all of which are a stain on our national moral conscience.
“Every British citizen has a right to be respected and a responsibility to respect others, so that together we can build a cohesive and harmonious society for all.
“As faith leaders, we salute the many people who have stepped forward to repair damage and restore their neighbourhoods. We pledge to work with government and all sections of society towards a constructive and compassionate dialogue on immigration and social cohesion.”
It was also signed by the RC Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols; the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis; the Chief Imam and director general of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, Imam Dr Sayed Razawi; and the chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, Imam Qari Asim.
The owner of X, Elon Musk, has been criticised by the Prime Minister for suggesting in a post that “civil war is inevitable” following the UK unrest. A spokesperson for Sir Keir said that there was “no justification” for Mr Musk’s comments, and that social media companies should be doing more to diffuse tensions.
Responding to the criticism on the Today programme, Archbishop Welby pointed to the recent transfer of power after the General Election: “Between the closing of the polls and a new Prime Minister peacefully in place was 14 hours, and some gracious words from the outgoing Prime Minister — that is about as far from talking about civil war as it is possible to get.”
The Government, he said, were “responding extremely well. . . They are speaking of peace, they are condemning violence, as we all do.” But longer-term thinking was needed, he said, “which will come when this dies down, which it very shortly will”.