Police have released photographs of people they want to talk to after a demonstration outside asylum seekers’ accommodation.
The protest was held in Newton Heath in Manchester on Wednesday in the wake of Monday’s knife attack in Southport, in which three girls were stabbed to death at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class.
It followed the circulation of false information that the 17-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of the girls’ murder was a recently-arrived asylum seeker.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said a 25-year-old man had been charged with violent disorder and attempted actual bodily harm of a police officer following the incident in Oldham Road.
The trouble saw two members of the public suffer injuries, including a bus driver who was forced to stop by the crowd.
Demonstrators – some in balaclavas – threw rocks and bottles at police before they were chased away.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said a “return to calm” was needed and that the focus should be on the bereaved families and those affected.
Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, died after a “ferocious” stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday.
On Thursday, Axel Muganwa Rudakubana appeared in court charged with their murders, and 10 counts of attempted murder, after eight other children and two adults were also seriously injured.
The Manchester demonstration came as disorder broke out across England.
In a social media post after Tuesday’s riot in Southport, the mother of Elsie asked that demonstrators “please stop the violence”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the disorder as the “actions of a tiny, mindless minority” and said increased cooperation between police forces would help clamp down on violent groups.