Thousands of anti-racism campaigners took to the streets of Britain on Wednesday night to fight back against the far-right agitators who have caused chaos in recent days.
Police had feared a further wave of violence, with anti-immigration lawyers and asylum advice centres expected to be targeted by more than 100 protests in towns and cities across England.
But the disorder never materialised as those intent on causing trouble were massively outnumbered in places like Brighton, Liverpool, Bristol, London, Oxford, Northampton and Newcastle.
It is believed that the heavy sentences handed down to some of those who took part in earlier riots also deterred many racists from joining further demos.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was “really pleased” with how last night’s events panned out.
He said: “We put thousands of officers on the street and I think the show of force from the police, and frankly the show of unity from communities, together defeated the challenges that we’ve seen.
“It went off very peacefully last night and the fears of extreme right disorder were abated.”
The disorder seen across England and Northern Ireland over the past week-and-a-half was initially sparked by misinformation spread online following the murder of three young girls in Southport.
Attacks took place on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers as the authorities struggled to control the mayhem.
Hundreds of people were arrested and prime minister Keir Starmer warned that those taking part in the “far-right thuggery” would feel “the full force of the law”.
Former Premier League footballer Stan Collymore documented last night’s anti-racism rallies in a series of posts on X.
The counter-protests were also a slap in the face for X boss Elon Musk, who claimed “civil war is inevitable” in the UK in an inflammatory post on the platform earlier in the week.
That earned him a slapdown from Keir Starmer, leading to a spat between Musk and the government.