Thousands more riot police on standby over fears of violence at immigration centres

Fears that far-Right mobs plan to target dozens of businesses specialising in helping people with asylum applications

Thousands more specialist riot officers have been put on standby amid fears that far-Right groups could target more than 30 centres offering immigration services across Britain.
Police forces had already mobilised 4,000 trained public order officers to deal with the violence and disorder sweeping the country.
With the unrest showing no sign of abating, police leaders have boosted the numbers by an extra 2,200 officers. They will be on standby across the country and can be mobilised to support colleagues locally and regionally.
The move comes amid fears that far-Right mobs are planning to target dozens of law centres that specialise in helping people with asylum applications.
James Cleverly, a former home secretary and Conservative leadership candidate, demanded to know where the extra officers would come from, writing on X, formerly Twitter: “Using the word ‘army’ always sounds tough, but is he suggesting a paramilitary police force?
“What new or additional powers will the unit have? Police forces across the UK have officers who are public order trained, but when not dealing with disorder they have other police duties. Will this standing army of officers have no other duties? If so, what will they do when there are no riots? Or is Starmer expecting permanent riots?”
A list of at least 39 centres offering immigration services across England is believed to have circulated among far-Right groups, with affected immigration practitioners have been advised to consult security firms and work from home if possible.
On Tuesday, the Law Society of England and Wales confirmed that it had alerted the police and sent a letter to the Prime Minister, Home Secretary and Lord Chancellor about the list. Nick Emmerson, its president, said he was “seriously concerned” about the threats.
“We also advised them of the small steps they can take if they are concerned about their safety at work,” Mr Emmerson said. “These included reviewing the security measures they have in place, consider consulting a security firm for advice, making security personnel aware of any threatening behaviour and attacks on staff, among other advice.”
One police force put out a statement warning that the address of a vulnerable pensioner’s home had been circulated online and marked as a target on the list.
In a post on X, Nottinghamshire Police wrote: “We are aware of a potential protest being organised in Nottingham on Wednesday evening. The location has no links to the business advertised on the internet.
“Officers have visited the address, and it is home to an elderly person with vulnerabilities. It has no links whatsoever to any immigration business. We would strongly advise that those wishing to attend any protest in this location refrain from doing so, as this is an elderly person’s home address.”
Zoe Bantleman, the legal director of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, said: ‘The recent far-Right violence and riots may intend to divide us, to vilify migrants, people racialised as migrants, and those of us who represent them. 
“We will not bow to these tactics of intimidation. We will respond with solidarity, and it is that which strengthens the legal community in the face of adversity.
“We may need to adapt our ways of working, and we have encouraged members to take precautions to safeguard their well-being, but we will not be discouraged from doing our jobs – providing equal access to justice and upholding the rule of law.”
On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police vowed to protect London from the disorder. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine, in charge of the policing operation, said: “This country is faced with one of the worst spates of violent disorder in the last decade. 
“This is a national critical incident, and we will do everything in our power to protect London and its communities. We know about the events planned by hateful and divisive groups across the capital tomorrow night. They’ve made their intention to cause disruption and division very clear.
“The scenes of racist, thuggish and criminal behaviour across the country have been deeply shocking. We will not tolerate this on our streets. We will use every power, tactic and tool available to prevent further scenes of disorder.”
An office manager at an immigration advisory service said he felt “very, very scared and very upset” about the threats his workplace has received.
A solicitor whose family firm practises immigration law said they would be working from home for the foreseeable future as a result of threats, adding: “For us, we’re mostly concerned about our clients, because our clients come from war-torn countries.
“If we’re not in the office, we can’t provide enough service they need. There’s only so much we can do from home – most of our clients are quite vulnerable.
Mark Goldring, the director of Asylum Welcome in Oxford, which provides advice and support to asylum seekers and refugees, said: “Obviously we were very concerned but we were even more concerned about the events of last week and the weekend, both in Southport but also in asylum hotels and cities across England.
“So alarm levels were rising among our clients, volunteers and staff even before we knew of the specific targeting we learned of yesterday.”