Far-right thugs holding British flags should be charged with treason

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

Kemi Badenoch said violent demonstrations by people carrying England flags showed a new strategy on integration was needed (Scott Heppell/PA)

Amid the outrageous scenes unfolding across the UK these past few days – with “demonstrators” seen assaulting police officers, punching innocent bystanders because of the colour of their skin, burning libraries, torching cars, looting shops and attacking hotels, ostensibly in the name of “reclaiming” the country – I was more than a little outraged to see that a number of these cerebrally-challenged thugs were waving union flags or St George’s Crosses as they carried out their acts of wanton destruction upon our country and its institutions.

I don’t think it would be unreasonable to regard that as treasonous. Wouldn’t being found guilty of treason be a suitable return to the “traditional values” they call for?

Nonetheless, I suspect that such an outcome, however entertaining it might be, is somewhat unlikely. I hope, therefore, that people will hold those in the public eye who encourage these riots accountable for any direct incitement to civil unrest among their “followers” on social media.

I understand that they are, for the most part, very careful to remain on the right side of the law by not explicitly calling for rioting or violence, but it is patently clear to everybody precisely what their intent is. None of them should be given platforms from which they are able to command public opinion, and websites which allow them to propagate their poison ought to be fined severely. Enough is enough.

Julian Self

Milton Keynes

I am a second-generation immigrant

Organised racists have used the awful murder of three children in Southport to riot against immigrants in general – and Muslims in particular. They have attacked and threatened mosques across the country despite the fact that Muslims had nothing to do with the atrocity they claim to be avenging.

The racists have set fire to a hostel accommodating refugees in Rotherham. They set fire to a police station in Sunderland. They have attacked Black and Asian people because they are Black and Asian people. They burned out a library which was also a food bank in Liverpool. They have chanted filthy anti-Muslim slogans. In Sunderland they threw rocks at Filipino NHS workers on their way to do emergency cover.

The racists have declared themselves for their hate preacher, Tommy Robinson. They have thrown fascist salutes and flaunt swastika tattoos. These are not “ordinary people ‘’ with “legitimate” concerns.

They are violent, far-right thugs emboldened and incited to violent disorder by politicians like Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson and Suella Braverman. They have been radicalised by certain sections of the UK mainstream tabloid media which has spent decades pushing anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant propaganda on a daily basis.

The argument that Russia or Iran are behind the disorder is a sick joke. The UK’s far-right terror problem is entirely home-grown.

Sasha Simic

London

The rioters are the real ‘invaders’

Coverage of the far-right riots in various cities might suggest that we need to protect our homes from the violent criminals (predominantly young and male) who are travelling to places where they can attack locals and police, loot shops and set fire to public and private property. The residents of Southport (already grieving the tragedy of three murdered children) and other targeted towns and cities, as volunteers help to clean up the destruction in their streets, might well be wishing they could prevent this terrorist invasion.

Katharine Powell

Neston

Spray rioters with coloured paint

Am I being too flippant in suggesting the rioters currently causing so much damage throughout our cities should be sprayed with coloured paint? They could then be easily identified for arrest, and sentenced to spells of correction in either the 500-capacity, soon-to-be-defunct Bibby Stockholm in Dorset (sorry, Dorset) or sent to Rwanda (sorry, Rwanda).

For funds: use the pre-paid schemes of hundreds of millions of pounds; both set up and failed by the equally failed last Tory government.

Tony Baker

York

Teach the rioters a lesson: take away their trainers

Donna Jones blames the unrest on immigration to the UK and refuses to back down. In my view, the thuggery we have seen on our streets is caused by an innate need by some – mostly male – people to find some excuse to fight. Back in the fifties, it was the teddy boys who fought amongst themselves; although it was wise to cross the road if one saw a group approaching. In the sixties, it was the mods versus the rockers – where being a member of one group was reason enough to attack a member of the other group. Then came football hooliganism, where the tribes were the team “supporters” of different clubs.

The arrival of refugees from conflict zones or adverse climatic conditions gave these aggressive thugs a golden opportunity to vent their manufactured rage against authority and do a little looting on the side. If solving this problem, created by a tiny percentage of the population, was easy; perhaps Ms Jones would tell us how.

In the meantime, those convicted of rioting should, as part of their punishment, have all their possessions seized except for the clothes they stand up in. Sending them to prison for a few months gives them a degree of kudos amongst their mindless mates, but having no smartphone or laptop or trendy trainers might send a message that even they can understand.

Patrick Cleary

Gloucestershire