Former Met Police detective Peter Bleksley has hit out at the use of the term ‘far-right’ as unrest continues to plague Britain.
Riots have hit different parts of the country after a crazed knife attack in Southport, with protesters clashing with police officers.
Speaking on GB News, Bleksley said the threat of the far-right is being overplayed by some politicians.
“The expression ‘far-right’ is now being used very lazily”, he told Mark Dolan.
Bleksley condemned the violence seen during protests
GB NEWS / PA
“It’s often very inaccurately used to describe anybody who harbours concerns about perhaps the rise of Islam or who is deeply concerned about unfettered migration into our country from people on small boats who we simply don’t know who they are or where they have come from.
“The label is pinned on anyone, and it is an assault on free speech. If people were to be heard in public having such a conversation and expressing their concerns, they might be frowned upon and that conversation would be ended.
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Peter Bleksley joined Mark Dolan on GB News
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“It’s lazy, it’s inaccurate, and it doesn’t apply to millions of decent, law aiding, concerned British citizens.”
Bleksley went on to acknowledge that many attending the protests did so to “make trouble”.
“If anybody wants to throw a brick at a police officer, you’re an idiot”, he said.
“Likewise if you want to set fire to a police vehicle. None of that is what should be happening. I don’t condone it in any shape or form.
Sunderland Central Police Station was set on fireSunderland Central Police Station was set on fire“If people want to take part in such action and are met with a robust reaction from the police service, then so be it. They brought it upon themselves.”
A police station was set alight and photos on social media showed a blackened Citizens Advice Bureau office in Sunderland on Friday.
The riots came after the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Merseyside on Monday.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
Greater Manchester Police said a dispersal notice had been authorised for the city centre to deal with planned demonstrations on Saturday.
Officers also mounted a significant security operation in Belfast city centre, after a small group of anti-Islamic protesters gathered at the front of City Hall, chanting “Islam Out”.