Church and faith leaders issue urgent call for peace after riots

The Archbishop of Canterbury has added his voice to urgent appeals for peace after days of rioting and violence across the UK. 

Over 90 arrests have been made after far-right protesters clashed with police and vandalised buildings over the weekend.

Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, Hartlepool, Sunderland and Belfast are among the many towns and cities which were affected by the riots, which were sparked by the deaths of three girls at a dance class in Southport on Monday. 

Appealing for calm, Archbishop Justin Welby condemned anyone using Christian symbolism or the name of God to justify violence. 

“Britain has a proud tradition of free speech and peaceful protest – those should always be protected. But violence and hatred targeted at minority communities is rarely justified and at all times abhorrent. It is totally unacceptable that Muslim and asylum-seeker communities are feeling so unsafe and I encourage people to achieve out and support them,” he said on X.

The Archbishop said he was praying particularly for the families of the victims of the Southport stabbing and said that they “have to be allowed and supported to grieve, not caused further pain and distress by violence that does nothing to support their healing or their pursuit of justice”.

He added, “Using Christian symbolism or the name of God to justify violence is offensive to the whole lot that Christ stands for. There is rarely any justification for this and I urge any Christian doing it to repent.” 

The Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, John Perumbalath, appeared alongside other local faith leaders in a video message urging calm. 

“In the midst of this tragedy, as we experience pain, grief and anger, what we want is for the entire community to return together. We must be really human, be there for each other,” he said. 

The Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool, Thomas Neylon, said, “There are other ways of resolving issues which you would possibly feel we do not agree with in our country so let’s use those methods to bring in regards to the peace and the healing that we want at this moment.”

Sarah Clark, the Acting Bishop of Durham, which covers Sunderland, said it was “really distressing” to see such “terrible” images of violence in Sunderland.

“Our church communities stand along with all condemning this awful violence and the small minority who incite hatred and intimidation on our streets – our prayers for all affected,” she said on X.