Sheffield protests: Far-right no show as 500 anti-fascist demonstrators block street
Five hundred anti-fascist protesters and scores of riot police - but zero far-right thugs.
Rumours of a potential attack on an immigration solicitors in Broomhall saw a huge group of counter demonstrators gather at the junction of Glossop Road, Northumberland Road and Clarkson Street.
But fears of a repeat of the unrest seen across the country, including at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on Sunday, failed to materialise.
If followed a face-off in the city centre in the afternoon when about 30 anti-immigration supporters were dwarfed by their opponents.
Dozens of Sheffield businesses closed and events were cancelled as a precaution.
But in Broomhall, the mood was buoyant.
People gave speeches condemning the attacks and politicians for stirring hatred, interspersed with crowd chants.
The junction was lined with people on all sides but the road remained open. Cars had to slow to get through, some of them beeping in support.
The Doctor’s Orders pub and a Coop supermarket closed as a precaution.
One speaker said: “You’d have to be a pretty thick fascist to turn up here in front of hundreds of people.”
At one point a group of men, some with faces covered, sparked alarm among police who ran to head them off - triggering a surge in the crowd. But they proved to be supporters of the protest and the atmosphere calmed.
It was a similar story on Sunday when a handful of far-right supporters faced hundreds of anti-fascist protesters in Barker’s Pool in Sheffield city centre.
The tragic killing of three young girls in Southport, and false claims spread online, has sparked violent disorder across the country.
More than 100 people have been charged and some are starting jail terms.