10 days we’ll never forget: Front pages from around the UK
It is a week that will long in the memories of anyone residing in towns or cities blighted by violence.
Local journalists have been on the frontline of reporting what has happened, often having to process what is happening to their own communities while at the same time providing real-time coverage of what is going on.
Throughout the week on Behind Local News, we’ve been sharing some of the stories journalists have written as eye witness to those events.
Today, we’re sharing a round-up of some of the front pages from local newspapers around the country.
It’s far from an exhaustive roundup — and if you see a paper that’s missing, please let us know at behindtheheadlinesuk@gmail.com or via our LinkedIn page here.
We’ll begin where it all began — Merseyside.
The front pages of the Liverpool Echo newspaper chronicle 11 days which began with horror and shock, but which risked being overtaken by hate-fuelled anger.
News of what would become the fatal killing of three little girls at a Taylor Swift-themed party in Southport on Monday, July 29 was covered extensively by the Echo online in realtime. The first print edition, on the Tuesday, focused on a town in mourning.
By Wednesday we saw the faces of the three little girls killed, while on Thursday, after violence had erupted on the streets of Southport, the Echo reported on the community’s determination not to be divided by hare. A 17-year-old had also been charged at this point.
The next day, court sketches of the teen charged, Axel Rudakubana, appeared on the front page, with some good news that two children attacked had been released from hospital.
Saturday, August 3 began with a message of solidarity. Buildings around Merseyside had been floodlit in pink in memory of the girls who died. But by the end of the day, it was violence in the city which was dominating the headlines. First, the Echo was reporting from The Strand on the city’s waterfront where protesters attacked police, before spending the night in the County Road district where looters and rioters attacked shops and burnt down a library.
On Monday, August 5, the Echo focused on stories of hope emerging from a weekend of violence, including that of a man who helped rescue a stricken police officer as a mob approached.
A week on from the first front page, on Tuesday August 6, the Echo split its splash between covering a peaceful vigil in memory of the girls in Southport, and covering the first court cases of the rioters. Swift justice is being dispatched in Liverpool, as it is around the country.
On Wednesday, the Echo splashed with the disturbing news a convicted neo Nazi was in Southport the previous week when trouble erupted. He was ‘documenting’ events.
Thursday brought perhaps the news that many had hoped for — far-right protests predicted on Wednesday had failed to materialise, and instead a massive show of hope over hate had emerged on the streets of Liverpool. “THIS IS OUR LIVERPOOL” the Echo announced in a front page widely praised on social media.
Court coverage returned to the front page on Friday as looters from the library riot the previous Saturday appeared in court.
In Southport, the weekly Visiter newspaper has focused on the impact on its local communities of events over the past two weeks, first beginning with 18 pages of coverage last week, before following up with coverage this week centred around how people in the seaside town were rallying around to support each other.
Violence spread around the country last weekend, with the North East of England being one of the first to witness mindless thuggery fuelled by the far right.
The Sunderland Echo splashed on weekend violence on Monday, leading with a response from city and community leaders that rioters would not win. On Tuesday, it revealed thousands of pounds had been donated by people seeking to help those who had suffered in the angry riots, before reporting on Wednesday how NHS workers had been attacked by those rioting even though they were trying to help the thugs.
Thursday’s Echo spoke to people who now no longer feel safe in the city, while on Friday it focused on the positive responses to the violence.
For the Northern Echo, front pages have covered violence in multiple towns, including Middlesbrough, Darlington and Hartlepool. By this weekend, the Echo as encouraging people to get back to normal, urging them to remember that town centres were open for business.
Last week, as violence flared in Hartlepool, the Echo splashed with “This is not who we are” — a front page themes it returned to several days later after hundreds turned out on the streets to clean up after the riots. “This is who we are” it declared.
Front pages of the Teesside Gazette have also been dominated by violent events, with the Gazette strongly condemning the violent actions seen in its towns.
Belfast, a city which knows all too well how damaging rioting can be for communities, also saw violence erupt, with paramilitary organisations being blamed.
The Belfast Telegraph’s front pages revealed overseas nurses were now quitting Northern Ireland because they no longer feel safe, while a Filipino care worker told the Telegraph they didn’t know where they were safe in the city any more.
Saturday’s front page did find a more upbeat line — a couple who pushed ahead with their wedding despite protests taking place all around them.
In Manchester, city centre protests made the front page of the Manchester Evening News’ Sunday edition, swiftly followed by splashes reporting promises from the police that justice would be done. On Thursday the MEN reported on how counter protesters took to the streets declaring ‘we all breathe the same air’ while on Friday, the MEN urged readers to help find 22 men and boys police want to speak to about the violence.
In Bristol, Post journalists witnessed violence in the city over the weekend, and focused several front pages during the week to the fall out, culminating in Friday’s splash reporting on how thousands turned out to counter protest a threatened far-right gathering — only for the far-right to fail to materialise.
In the South West, the Morning News led with coverage of protests around the region on several days, with the most striking splash on Wednesday as it focused on violence flaring in Plymouth.
The Plymouth Herald’s front pages were dominated by clashes which swept through the city centre on Monday. On Wednesday, the Herald asked “How dare they take over our streets” before on Friday revealing the first cases of people being sentenced for their part in violence.
The pattern of the week in many towns and cities was neatly summed up in four front pages from the News in Portsmouth. Coverage of protests dominated Monday’s front page before warnings were reported that no violence would be tolerated at future gatherings. The peaceful protests which emerged on Wednesday night were reported on Friday — while today (Saturday) the focus is now on finding those who caused havoc in the first place.
It was the same in Blackpool, where street clashes at the weekend were reported on Monday, followed by a warning from police that troublemakers would be caught — followed by a front page appealing for help in finding some of those who had been caught on camera.
In Birmingham, the Birmingham Mail’s front page on Tuesday captured details of a late-night protest at a hotel in Tamworth, while also reporting on locals in part of Birmingham turning out in force to protect communities from a rumoured far-right protest.
The Mail also cleared its front page on Thursday to the ‘two-tier policing’ story — a claim made by Elon Musk that it appeared the police responded differently to protests depending on who was involved. West Midlands Police dismissed this claim, as a powerful Mail splash showed.
And finally, to Tamworth, where the weekly Herald was well placed to offer considered reflection on Sunday night protests outside a Holiday Inn housing asylum seekers.
It noted the protest mobs hit the town on Sunday with petrol bombs and firworks, before the town came together to clear up the mess.
