United against hate Counter-protesters left with nothing to counter

It was the day that England held its breath. Across the country, and over the Irish Sea in Belfast, police forces were braced for the most widespread night of violence in more than a decade.

Shops were boarded up, theatre performances cancelled and hotels and immigration advice centres closed over fears they were in the crosshairs of the far-right disorder that has laid siege to dozens of towns and cities over the past week.

But, early yesterday evening at least, it was anti-racism demonstrators who thronged on the streets of England from Newcastle down to London and across to Bristol. Counterprotesters arrived first and their numbers just grew and grew, from dozens to hundreds and then thousands.

By mid-evening they were mostly counter-protesters with nothing to counter. There was sometimes an almost carnival-like atmosphere singing, dancing and in one case a samba band - with little sign of the far right.

The scale of the anti-racism protests was surely sending a message: a bid to change the narrative after a week dominated by rampant far-right, anti-immigrant violence.

In Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, outside a migrant centre, they chanted "fascist scum out of Brum".

In Liverpool they held banners such as "Nans Against Nazis", "Immigrants welcome. Racists not" and "When the poor blame the poor only the rich win". An elderly man with a portable speaker resting on his walking frame played John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance on repeat.

In Brighton the anti-racism demonstrators so outnumbered the far-right that the police surrounded the latter for their own protection.

By 9pm a hardcore of three rightwing activists remained, so sound systems were set up. It became a party. "This could on for hours," said one observer.