London residents have condemned the riots started by far-right protesters across the UK following the murder of three girls in Southport late last month.
The UK has been gripped by unrest and what Prime Minister Keir Starmer called "far-right thuggery" after three young girls were killed and several others injured in a stabbing by a 17-year-old boy on July 29 in the northwest town of Southport. The violence broke out after social media posts falsely claimed that the suspected attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.
In interviews with China Global Television Network (CGTN), many Londoners expressed their opposition to the rioters.
"I mean it can be difficult when you're coming to work, because you don't know where things are happening. But so far, we've been really lucky and haven't seen anything," said Rich, a financial consultant.
"It's pretty... it's fine where I am, where we live. We're quite an accepting community, we're a good community. So, nothing has really changed. But obviously we're all quite aware of the situation everywhere else. A lot of people I know are getting involved in peace protests and that kind of stuff," said Oli, a company director.
"It's a bit sad because lots of my friends didn't want to go out this week. So, I think everyone's really angry about the riots. I think everyone wants to come together. But the general feeling is quite disappointed, in the way that people have acted," said a lawyer named Natalie.
Oli said people are "disgusted by" the issue, meanwhile Natalie echoed that "the riots are disgusting, these people are awful".
The interviewees also showed their support to counterprotesters who have been fighting racism, and expressed their concerns on the UK's image to the rest of the world.
"I am very much against them. I was really pleased to see the news this morning that in so many different areas around the UK, anti-(racism) protesters and people who are welcoming asylum seekers and people who are not from this country who need help [have] outnumbered a lot of the far-right protesters. I was really pleased to see that because actually I think the majority of English people, or people who live in the UK, do feel that way," said a PR consultant named Heather.
"All I would say is hopefully people across the world realize that it's the few that believe [in] these really hateful and horrible things, not everyone and not many, because we don't," said Oli.
Many interviewees believe the measures currently taken by the government are effective to quash the riots, while some others calling for more approaches.
"So, the government has cracked down against the protests and they've employed the police to make sure that areas are safe. And obviously put people in prison for where they have rioted. So, I think that's some really good steps of what they've done," Rich said.
"It's one of those situations, it's hard. You're not going to please everyone and everyone's going to criticize you. But I think in general that everything that could be done has been done," said Oli.
"I think they need to take more measures. And I think from what I've seen, it's mainly people in the public that are helping people, rather than the government. I don't think it's enough," Natalie said she expects more from the government.
Londoners "disgusted by" racism riots
Londoners "disgusted by" racism riots
