Adam Kelwick has spoken to the ECHO of his relief and optimism that better days are ahead
A Liverpool imam has spoken about his pride in the city after up to 1,000 people appeared in support against the planned protest on Overbury Street. Photos on the night showed large crowds of counter-protestors gathering from around 7pm.
As people chanted, held signs and joined together against the protest that never materialised, the imam of Abdullah Quilliam mosque, off West Derby Road, told the ECHO how he hoped tonight marked the end of the violent disorder that has spread across Merseyside and the country in recent days. The violence erupted across the country following the deaths of Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Aguiar and Bebe King in a mass stabbing in Southport on Monday, July 29. Riots began in Southport the following day before spreading across the region and country in the days that followed.
Adam Kelwick said towards the end of the evening: “I feel very relieved because we considered this evening as being pivotal in knowing the future of the situation up and down the country. We kind of see this as a litmus test, if the violence had increased this evening then it’s likely it was going to be around for a long time, if, we said, it fizzles away and nothing really happens then it’s a sign that peace has been resorted. That’s what we’ve seen tonight and I’m optimistic that this is the end of it now.
READ MORE: Teen becomes 16th person to be charged over violent disorder on MerseysideREAD MORE: Pictures show counter-protestors uniting against the far-right
“I’ve also been speaking with leaders of the far right movements and they’ve broken bread with me, they’ve reached out to me, we’ve sat down and drunk coffee together. We’ve had discussions and we’ve realised that it feels like somebody’s trying to play us against each other here.
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“They’ve confirmed to me that they regret being involved in the protests at the Pier Head and that they won’t be taking their followers there again and I’ve even had an olive branch reached out by one of them who said he wants to invite people from my community, take a coach full of people with two coaches full of their families on a day trip to North Wales this weekend and I accepted that request.
“We’re going to be sitting down, making friends with many of the people on the other side. This is the way that we do it, you talk to each other and you listen to each other. I’m so relieved and I’m so glad. I’m genuinely thanking God right now that nothing has happened tonight. I have spoken to police and they said it has been overwhelmingly peaceful and I’m so relieved.”
Ahead of the protest and counter-protest, Merseyside Police confirmed a dispersal order had been extended in Liverpool to prevent incidents of disorder and criminality. The order was put in place at 1.38pm on Wednesday, running until 4am on Thursday.
Cities across the country saw similar turnouts from counter-protesters, with an overwhelming reaction from people up and down the UK. Adam continued: “I know there’s a lot of discussions in the media, at the highest echelons of the government, talking about foreign interference [in the disorder across the country].
“They’re mentioning fake news outlets and websites being tracked to certain parts of the world. We need to find out who is trying to play games in our communities as quickly as possible and tell them to stop it because we’re not standing for it.”
Following the riots in Southport, Tech Against Terrorism claimed a Russian state broadcaster had falsely named the Southport stabbing suspect and fuelled far-right conspiracy theories and the violent riots. The campaign group also urged for heightened vigilance against foreign interference following the far-right violence.
