Walthamstow shops and businesses closed amid fears of right-wing riots
Shops and businesses across London have begun boarding up their buildings amid fears right-wing rioters will cause chaos this evening.
Pub landlords and estate agents are among those who are "concerned" after being warned by police of planned protests later today (Wednesday August 7).
Businesses in four London boroughs where protests are planned say police visited them on Tuesday to take precautions.
An immigration bureau near Walthamstow Central underground station in northeast London has been named online as one of four possible locations for protests across the capital.
One popular pub in the area has confirmed it will shut for the day because of the protests, whilst several estate agents said they’d boarded up their high-street shops on the advice of police.
Other protests across the capital are reportedly planned to take place at immigration centres in Harrow, northwest London, Hounslow in west London and Finchley, north London.
Many businesses have shut up shop for the day or will be closing early due to fears of unrest.
A nursery in Walthamstow has warned parents to collect their children "by 5pm" today to "ensure children and staff get home safe and avoid potentially being caught up".
One parent, posting the note on X, formerly Twitter, described the need for the advice as "beyond grim".
Meanwhile, Walthamstow pub The Nag’s Head told its followers on Instagram it wouldn’t be open - telling customers to "stay safe".
The pub said in a post: “We’ll be closed on Wednesday August 7 due to [a] potential protest in Walthamstow to ensure safety of our employees and customers.
“Please everyone stay safe! We’ll be back again on Thursday 8.”
An employee at the Walthamstow branch of Foxtons Estate Agents - which sits directly next door to the immigration centre - confirmed they had boarded up their office, as well as their Finchley branch after being advised to do so by police.
“We have been advised by the police to put boardings up for safety,” the woman said.
A woman working at Your Move Estate Agents, just a little further down the road, said they’d received similar advice from police yesterday.
“We haven’t boarded up but we have the shutters down and we are going to close early, around five o’clock. We got the advice yesterday from the police, who came in to see us.”
A manager at another estate agent on the same road admitted he was "concerned" about the rumoured riots.
The Central Estates manager said: “It’s just the safety of the staff - better to be safe than sorry.
“We are going to shut up, put the blinds down and probably leave early - otherwise employees won’t be able to get away by car."
Asked if he was worried the business would be damaged, the manager added: “Are we concerned? Yes. Who wouldn’t be?
“We are mainly concerned about the safety of our staff.”
Police officials for Walthamstow and North Finchley confirmed they were "aware of social media posts relating to potential events" taking place this evening, and said there would be an increased police presence in both areas as a result.
Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine said: "We have more than 1,300 public order officers ready to deploy across London today in addition to thousands already working in our communities.
“We will not tolerate any disorder and will make arrests.
"We are also using a range of specialist teams including mounted units, dog handlers, intelligence experts and evidence gatherers.
"We will be using retrospective facial recognition to help officers identify those behind criminal disorder. This technology can be used even when offenders are wearing masks.
"Our thanks goes to Londoners who condemn the hateful and divisive behaviour which is fuelling significant concern among our communities.”
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I’m aware of reports that far-right groups are now planning to target locations in London and I want to be very clear to anyone thinking of spreading hatred and fear in our city – if you break the law, action will be taken against you.”
Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy wrote on X: “Walthamstow I know there is some really worrying stuff being circulated on social media - please be assured getting to the bottom of it is my priority and please wait for further updates.
“Am asking for your help to defeat the fear being stoked together!”
A Harrow council spokesman said: “We are aware of social media posts and WhatsApp messages being shared which claim that a protest is being held in Harrow on Wednesday.
“We are working with the police to verify whether a protest is taking place and if there is we will prioritise the safety of Harrow’s communities in our response.”
Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman took to X to slam the "disgusting" protests. She said: "A service helping immigrants in Finchley has been included in a list of targets of far-right groups planning actions this week. This is disgusting.”
Leader of Hounslow Council, Councillor Shantanu Rajawat,said: "We are aware of social media posts and WhatsApp messages which claim a protest is being planned in the borough this week.
“We are working with the police to verify that claim. If there is any credibility to it, we will work with the police and other partners to prioritise the safety of our communities.”