Far-right mobs failed to show up at their own planned protests last night, after being outnumbered by thousands of peaceful Brits – who lined the streets in a heartwarming display of unity against racism.
Those who threatened to unleash carnage in more than 100 towns and cities were nowhere to be seen as 41 police forces, including the Metropolitan Police, had geared for another night of rioting and anarchy.
Instead, peaceful counter-protesters gathered at the marches to fend off the far-right, proudly waving banners that read "no room for racism" and "racists out, refugees in".
Huge turnouts were seen in Walthamstow, northeast London, while thousands more gathered in Bristol, Newcastle, and Birmingham.
Experts have now provided some insight into why rioters may have been stood down from unleashing their usual chaos last night, after a series of lengthy jail terms were handed out following a horror night of violence in Southport last week.
Lengthy jail terms deterred violent mobs
Three men from Merseyside were handed hefty jail terms this week – the longest being a three-year jail term handed to Derek Drummond, 58, who punched a cop, assaulted an emergency worker, and used racist language during a violent riot in Southport.
Dr Javier S. Eskauriatza, a professor of criminal law at the University of Nottingham's School of Law, said the lengthy sentences likely deterred others from committing similar offences. He told the Mirror: "The criminal law and prosecution has a way of sharpening the mind.
"Looking at the three men from Liverpool who were handed lengthy sentences, one being three years which was handed down relatively quickly because of the guilty plea, and the other two being 30 months and 20 months, I think it would be unreasonable to assume that there wasn't a deterrent effect there.
"The criminal law, once it's enforced will have a deterrent effect. Reasonable human beings will see that and say, 'well, that could've been me, because I was there too', so I think you have to say the response had an effect and dampened the spirits [of rioters]."
Riot plans were widely circulated online
Police soucres revealed that more than 100 areas were feared as potential targets by the far-right on Wednesday night, with 41 forces preparing for what was expected to be the busiest day of rioting this week.
Instead, a sea of anti-racist protesters emerged to retake "our streets" in heartwarming scenes captured across the country.
Dr Eskauriatza suggested that the added awareness of far-right protests on Wednesday may have contributed to plans being halted. He explained: "Everybody, including the police, had seen that these protests were planned outside immigration centres, so there was an oppourtunity for them [the police] to mobilise.
"If you're so emboldened to put your plans out on the internet and reveal what you're going to do, it gives people the chance to respond. So you had thousands of cops deployed and as many as 40,000 people" who gathered at the counter-protests.
Huge turnout and display of unity at counter-protests
The sheer scale of counter-protesters left far-right groups feeling outnumbered, meaning they would have struggled to make a real impact, experts suggest.
Dr Carolyne Keenan, a registered psychologist who specialises in human behaviour, says based on what we can draw from recent events, "the police presence has been huge in putting people off", but so has "the massive show of community and unity from the British people saying that it won't be tolerated."
She added: "It's much harder to make an impact when you're being drowned out."
Thugs being publically named and shamed
Forces across the UK are taking a hard line on suspects of violent disorder and have arrested more than 400 people in connection with the unrest. Around 120 people have been charged and 428 arrests made, with that number expected to rise significantly day by day.
Dr Carolyn said rioters being arrested and having their mushots plastered all over the news has likely put others off a potentially embarrassing display of naming and shaming.
She explained: "The phrase named and shamed is really appropriate. Even people turning up in hoods and masks have been identified and quite quickly prosecuted, so there's a direct consequence being clearly outlined, which makes it quite difficult to act without intention.
"For those who were getting caught up in a percieved sense of solidarity, or excitement, it's much more likely to be put off when they see the really quick response from the courts. People have already been issued with prison sentences, and it's only been a week."
She added: "It's a lot less exciting when you're seeing those reprocussions. Maybe you're seeing your friends charged, and particularly some of the footage that's being shown on raids in homes, it brings it back to family and safety, and ultimately we want to protect our own.
"I guess that's what some of these far right protests are about, people missguidedly feeling like they're protecting their own, and their own are very much at risk when they're being shown on the news, and their homes are being shown and their addresses are being leaked."
'Full force of the law' warning was undermined
Prime Minister Keir Starmer repeatedly warned rioters they would feel the "full force of the law" if involved in any kind of violent disorder – but it appears as though the phrase wasn't properly understood or taken seriously until the first round of jail sentences were announced.
The 'full force of the law' means this conduct may fall under a range of different offences, Dr Eskauriatza explained. He said: "You've got affray, violent disorder, and at the top of the scale, maybe some of the terrorism offences or attempted murder, depending on what the conduct is.
"And then you've got a range of possible sentencing parametres. For example, for violent disorder, it'll be a maximum of five years.
"So when Starmer and the rest of the system started to say 'we will apply the full force of the law', what's very interesting there is that there is an indication to the CPS that they ought to seek the strongest possible sentencing."
"Maybe that didn't have an immediate effect, but I think once the sentences started to come down, arrests were made and specialist officers were deployed, I think it has to create in the minds of potential criminals the view that, actually, the risk is very high."
