This Girl Was Not Arrested During Recent Riots in Britain
The Claim
British police are more concerned with arresting teenagers like this rather than mobs riding around in cars with sticks and swords.
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Emerging story
Recently, a video of a British girl being arrested was widely shared on X, purporting that police officers were arresting an innocent girl in light of the current riot chaos in the U.K.
Users claimed that police officers were deliberately arresting young innocent British people while ignoring the mobs causing riots.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the widely shared video and found it to be misleading. The video dates back to July and has no relation to the current riots in the U.K.
Arresting Pro-Palestine Protesters
Misbar’s team found that the girl featured in the video was arrested on July 17, not recently.
The girl was captured in an image while being led by the police. The image, dated July 17, can be found on Getty Images.
It should also be noted that the girl’s clothes in the image uploaded to Getty Images are similar to those in the circulated video.
According to the description on Getty Images, the girl in question was arrested in Victoria Embankment Gardens when Youth Demand protesters disrupted King Charles III’s speech at the state opening of Parliament in July 2024 in London.
Arrests at Youth Demand Pro-Palestine Protest
The girl featured in the circulating video was one of the dozens of protesters arrested by police ahead of the State Opening of Parliament. The officers were searching through the bags of protesters and rolling up Palestinian flags in Victoria Embankment Gardens.
The police said that Youth Demand had planned to disrupt the event since a week earlier. The group sent an email stating that they would be disrupting the event in an attempt to fight back without violence.
Some activists held up large banners calling to stop the genocide in Gaza while being surrounded by Metropolitan Police officers, and a protester shouted 'Free Palestine' while being moved away by the officers.
Arrests of Riot Thugs in the U.K.
Riots have spread across Britain following the tragic killing of three girls in Southport on July 29. Since then, hate-filled protests organized by far-right groups have taken place in several U.K. towns and cities. British local media reports state that more than 100 people have been arrested.
Violence, looting, and attacks on police have been reported in the affected areas. Throughout all this chaos, police have struggled to maintain order. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that the government will fully support the police and will not tolerate 'attempts to sow hate and divide our communities.'
Hull is one of the cities affected by these riots. Several shops in the city were broken into and looted, and one was even set on fire. Twenty-five people have been arrested following a night of chaos and disorder, according to the police in Hull.
Assistant Chief Constable Thom McLoughlin of Humberside Police confirmed that the force will make more arrests. "They were intent on acting like thugs, and there is no place for them across Hull or the Humberside force area," he said.
Read More
How Misinformation Fuels Hate Speech Surge Against Muslims in Britain
Old Video of Police Raiding a Place Resurfaces Amid Ongoing Riots in the U.K.
