Hundreds of protesters in Nuneaton marched through the Warwickshire town after two men, reported to be Afghan asylum seekers, were charged over the rape of a 12-year-old girl.
The crowd, also protesting against asylum hotels and houses of multiple occupation, significantly outnumbered Stand Up to Racism counter-protesters outside Nuneaton’s Town Hall on Saturday afternoon.
Police said the protest was peaceful, with one arrest of a 17-year-old boy.
The protests come after Warwickshire Police said Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, had been charged with rape, while Mohammad Kabir, 23, was charged with kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting rape of a girl under 13 after an alleged incident in Nuneaton.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and the youngest council leader in the country, George Finch, who is leader of Warwickshire County Council, claimed there had been a “cover-up” of details about the alleged rape.
Warwickshire Police chief constable Alex Franklin-Smith said the force “did not and will not” cover up alleged criminality and had followed national guidance.
A large police presence was outside the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council offices in Coton Road while protesters carried St George’s Cross flags and Union flags while playing music, such as Rule Britannia, the national anthem and Sweet Caroline, into the street.
Some protesters chanted “Who are you?” at the Stand Up to Racism group, while signs reading “This is England” and “What about our girls’ human right to safety” were held above the crowd of hundreds of people.
Meanwhile the anti-racism protesters chanted “Love not hate” and held placards which said “Stop the far right”.
When the anti-racism counter-protesters left the area, people carrying flags followed them shouting “scum”, “get them out” and “paedo”, before they walked into the Ropewalk Shopping Centre in the town where shoppers looked on at the protest.
After the Stand Up to Racism protesters left, a march was led along the high street, escorted by police officers, while people chanted “Stop the boats” and “We want our country back”.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Police said: “Today we have worked with our partners and our communities as a peaceful protest in Nuneaton took place.
“Protesters gathered outside the Town Hall from 12pm and left the area at around 3.30pm. We maintained a presence in the area throughout to ensure the safety of all protesters and our communities.
“As a result of the protest, we did make one arrest, a 17-year-old boy from Nuneaton, for making threats to cause criminal damage. He remains in custody at this time.
“Thank you to all who worked with us to exercise their democratic right to protest in a way that was peaceful and lawful today.”
On Friday, Mr Finch urged protesters to act in a “peaceful manner” during the demonstrations in Nuneaton.
The 19-year-old said he was “deeply concerned” about the risk of the protests being “hijacked by agitators who seek to cause disorder and division within our community”.
There were also smaller demonstrations around the country, including in Bristol, Bournemouth, Liverpool and Birmingham among others on Saturday, and Portsmouth, Southampton and Aldershot in Hampshire, Leicester and Altrincham in Cheshire on Friday evening.
A handful of people were arrested at demonstrations in Canary Wharf, in London, and Epping, in Essex, on Friday night.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for more transparency from police about suspects, and said it was an “operational decision” for forces and the Crown Prosecution Service over what details to release.
Ms Cooper said “we do think more transparency is needed” in the information given by police.
Mr Farage has suggested he believes the immigration status of suspects charged with crimes should be made available.
