Report
Published on September 9, 2024
Immigration lawyers in Britain told Human Rights First they need better protection from the United Kingdom government after they were targeted by far-right groups during widespread rioting in July and August 2024.
Major violence broke out across British cities in late July after an attack on children in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the northern city of Southport, near Liverpool. Three children, aged six, seven, and nine, were stabbed to death in the attack and ten more people were wounded.
Within hours of the attack, posts on social media falsely claimed the attacker was an Arab Muslim who had illegally entered Britain and applied for asylum.
The man charged with the attack is Axel Rudakubana, a British citizen born in Wales. He was 17 at the time of the attack but turned 18 shortly afterward. The judge lifted the usual anonymity granted to minors partly to address the fake reports fueling violence.
Far-right rioters chanted “We want our country back,” and attacked mosques, hotels housing asylum seekers, and the police. To date, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the riots (including a small number who fought back against the rioters), and around 500 charged, including at least 70 under the age of 18. Courts have so far convicted over 120 people, including at least one former British soldier, with sentences ranging up to six years in jail.
Extremists circulated on social media the names and addresses of 39 targets, including immigration lawyers, those offering legal services to migrants, and refugee shelters. A far-right channel on Telegram which started at the time of the riots amassed 15,000 members within days and promoted the list. Police advised immigration lawyers to take security precautions, including working from home, boarding office windows, and installing fireproof letterboxes. Some of the addresses listed were lawyers’ homes.
“We took the threats very seriously,” Liz Barratt, Partner and head of the immigration team at Bindmans LLP told Human Rights First. Bindmans is a prominent London firm of lawyers, known for 50 years for its human rights work. “As a firm we tightened our security in the building, such as re-engaging all the internal door locks, advising staff to leave the building earlier than peak times, using the back entrances, and not meeting new clients out of the office or even in the office on their own.”
Immigration lawyers say the attacks followed years of vilification of their work by prominent politicians and sections of the British media. The riots broke out a few weeks after a British general election, in which a Labour Party victory ended 14 years of Conservative Party government.
“The legal community has repeatedly warned that the vilification of lawyers would endanger their safety and undermine the justice system,” Zoe Bantleman, Legal Director of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) told Human Rights First. “Over the past month, we have seen offices having to close and lawyers contact the police and take precautionary measures to safeguard themselves, for fear of being harmed for carrying out their professional duties. Such measures have had serious implications for the ability of individuals, including the most vulnerable in our community, to access justice.”
Immigration lawyer Harjap Singh Bhangal has offices in London and Birmingham and told Human Rights First that when the threats against immigration lawyers began to circulate in August, his name was on the list, and that police visited his offices in London and Birmingham telling staff to evacuate. He estimates that around 60 legal firms had to temporarily shut down. “We had to close down for a while – it was the school holidays and people would be in the reception area with their kids. We’re easy targets, it was too dangerous,” he said.
The UK lawyers asked for more protection from the British government and support from counterparts in the United States and elsewhere to counter what they describe as the transitional threat of far-right extremism. These efforts should include steps to protect lawyers’ safety, reject and counter anti-immigrant rhetoric, respect the right to seek asylum, and ensure prompt investigation of attacks as well as prosecutions.
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