How the far-right has capitalised on the 'two-tier policing' myth
Baseless rumours and conspiracy theories spread rapidly online in the aftermath of the fatal stabbing of children in Southport last Monday, sparking violent racist and Islamophobic rioting across the UK.
The myth of a ‘two-tier’ policing system has been used by far-right leaders to stir up anger against authorities, including the police, amid the violence. The conspiracy claims that white working-class people are being treated differently to people of colour and refugees by policing.
Home affairs and security journalist Lizzie Dearden said the far-right narrative dates back at least five years, finding the first mention of ‘two-tier policing’ in Telegram chats in 2019. It was co-opted by anti-vaccine group members who were arrested in violation of Covid regulations during the pandemic, while it was most commonly used to claim left-wing protesters were being policed more lightly than right-wing protesters, and now that white people are being policed more severely than black and brown people in the rioting.
Agitators argue the policing of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and the pro-Palestine demos are examples of protesters being treated lightly, while also pointing to policing failures in the Rochdale abuse scandal in the 2000s.
The myth can be seen as part of a wider narrative by far-right groups that allege white British people are being oppressed and undermined by the state. This dangerously feeds into the “great replacement theory”, a racism conspiracy pushed by white supremacist that claims Europeans are being “replaced” by non-white immigrants.
Prominent figures on the far-right including Tommy Robinson and Laurence Fox have spread the ‘two-tier’ policing myth and have used the conspiracy to stoke anti-authority and anti-immigration messaging. The ‘two-tier’ narrative has also been legitimised by politicians and commentators.
Nigel Farage stoked the fire around the harmful myth in a recent statement responding to the riots when he said, “ever since the soft policing of the Black Lives Matter protests, the impression of two-tier policing has become widespread.”
Farage took a shot at the Prime Minister, who he criticised for his reaction to the unrest saying it had “only added to that sense of injustice.” Sir Keir Starmer dismissed Nigel Farage, calling his claims a “non-issue” and that policing was carried out “without fear or favour.”
It comes after Farage perpetrated the conspiracy that the authorities were withholding the truth around the Southport knife attack that killed three young children and sparked the riots. He was condemned for spreading “baseless far-right rumours” further stoking division. However the disingenuous seeding of doubt appears to have allowed the ‘two-tier’ claim to now be a legitimate point of questioning by broadcasters.
The Commissioner of the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley was filmed on Monday (5 August) knocking the microphone out of a journalist’s hand after being presented with the accusation of “two-tier” policing.
Today the Justice Minister was asked on the BBC whether people promoting the conspiracy “had a point”. Heidi Alexander shot down the suggestion, saying the myth was a “completely baseless assertion” that she would not entertain. But it highlights how widespread it has become.
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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