OVER 65 third-sector organisations have signed a letter calling for an urgent response from the government to tackle the root causes of the far-right riots which gripped the nation earlier this month.

Selma Taha, executive director of Southall Black Sisters, delivered the letter to Downing Street today, joined by other leaders including Alphonsine Kabagabo, CEO of Women for Refugee Women, and Gisela Valle Garcia, director of Latin American Women’s Rights Service.

The letter contains a list of 12 demands to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to tackle the root cause of the riots, which saw mobs target mosques, immigration centres and hotels housing asylum-seekers following the murder of three young girls in Southport at the end of July.

It calls on the government to acknowledge that the riots are the “product of decades of hostility towards immigrants and minorities in the UK stoked by government policy, media, and public figures, resulting in a discriminatory, two-tier system for migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers.”

The letter demanded urgent protective measures and support mechanisms for communities and organisations in danger, and the immediate suspension of in-person immigration reporting.

It called for MPs who make racist comments to be referred to the parliamentary standards committee and for an evaluation of the role of social media companies in contributing to the unrest. 

The letter also urged the government to implement reforms that can help build trust between statutory agencies and black, minoritised and migrant communities, such as eradicating institutional racism in policing. 

And it called for investment in communities by reversing austerity measures and financing public services that “promote community cohesion, education and youth development.”

Ms Taha said: “Since the attack in Southport, the far right has instrumentalised violence against women and girls to spur hateful and divisive anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and racist sentiments that have sowed fear in these communities. 

“It is shocking yet unsurprising to see such vitriolic violence in 2024 — it is the result of decades of discrimination and deprivation institutionalised in government policy. 

“We are now demanding urgent change from the government, including a commitment to undoing the disproportionate harm caused to black, minoritised, and migrant communities through the perpetuation of austerity-era measures and policies such as the hostile environment.”