British anti-racism campaigners filled the streets of towns and cities across the country and police put on a massive show of force, largely stifling a threatened wave of far-right demonstrations .
Carrying signs saying "Refugees Welcome" and chanting "Who's streets? Our streets," people turned out in force on Wednesday to protect asylum service centers and the offices of immigration attorneys that had been listed as potential targets for hard-right attacks.
The government also declared a national critical incident, putting 6,000 specially trained police on standby to respond to any disorder. Police said that protests and counterprotests were largely peaceful, though a small number of arrests were made.
"The show of force from the police and, frankly, the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we faced," Commissioner Mark Rowley, the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, said Thursday. "It went off very peacefully last night, and the fears of extreme right disorder were abated."
While authorities welcomed the relative calm, police and government officials remain on alert after misinformation about a knife attack that killed three young girls in the English seaside town of Southport fanned days of violence . More than 400 people have been arrested around the country after anti-immigrant mobs clashed with police, attacked mosques and overran two hotels housing asylum-seekers.
