Second anti-racism protest to be held in Southampton

On Saturday, August 10, a ‘Stop The Far Right’ rally is set to be held in Southampton at 12pm outside the Bargate.

The rally has been described as an open mic event and comes after England flag-wearing masked men met with hundreds of anti-racism protesters in the city centre on Wednesday.

Three arrests were made by police, including an 18-year-old man from Eastleigh and 40-year-old grandfather Ryan Wheatley from Fair Oak, who has admitted to assaulting an emergency worker during the protest.

The protest in Southampton on Wednesday (Image: Alex Shute) Hampshire police officers had the difficult task of stopping the opposing groups from coming to blows on Wednesday evening and were directed by Chief Inspector Marcus Kennedy.

Rallying crowds and taking to the megaphone on Wednesday was Mo Ansar, 50, an anti-racism campaigner and Muslim preacher who has lived in Southampton since 1993.

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He is widely known in the UK for taking part in 2013 BBC documentary, ‘When Tommy met Mo’ after the former leader of the English Defence League left the group.

Mo Ansar (Image: Alex Shute)Mo said: “I have spent years in Southampton trying to be a champion of this city and protect the rights of refugees and Muslim minorities.

“Tommy Robinson and political figures such as Nigel Farage have created a summer of discontent in the UK.

“They want to reap division and marginalise immigrants.

“The action in Southampton on Wednesday showed these figures that British people are saying no… we will not be divided.

“I was engaging with the England flag wearing protestors on Wednesday and tried to listen to what they had to say – we need to find common terms with these people in order to solve the problems we have seen across the country.”

Mo will be attending the protest outside the Bargate in Southampton tomorrow.