I know many of you will be as appalled and disgusted as I am that Birmingham awoke this morning to the ongoing threat of racist riots and far right violence directed against fellow citizens in our most vulnerable communities.

There is no excuse for such violence. It is driven by mindless racism and bigotry, and stoked by extremist media misinformation and culture war rhetoric promulgated by powerful voices in public life who should know better, and do better.

Diversity, multiculturalism and the contribution of refugees and migrants are great strengths in our City of Sanctuary. The people who support and are welcome here (and in “our country”) are those who contribute to it with their unique and varied presence, efforts, and perspectives. They are the ones who support Birmingham by adding to the total of its social fabric through the full beautiful breadth of their lived experience. They are Birmingham. Those who threaten to smash it up in a display of mindless thuggery and embarrassing ignorance are not, and never will be, welcome here. They are not Birmingham.

BVSC utterly condemns anti-immigrant sentiment, racism, and the threat of violence in our city, and we stand in full support of the city’s diverse communities and all who find sanctuary here. We are working closely with and are in contact with colleagues in Birmingham City Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority to ensure we connect public and voluntary sector comms and efforts in response to these threats, and in support of our communities.

In terms of our support work with voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations, we encourage our members to stay abreast of information from reputable and verifiable sources such as West Midlands Police, and we draw your attention to the following important statements and resources:

• This statement from the Leader of Birmingham City Council: https://x.com/CllrJohnCotton/status/1820464231340458467
• This statement from West Midlands Police:
  https://x.com/WMPolice/status/1820865719028064767
• This guide to keeping your business safe from crime and violence: https://www.westmidlands.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/keeping-business-safe-from-crime/
• The Home Office emergency support offer for community premises under threat:  https://www.bvsc.org/news/important-info-in-response-to-recent-violent-disorder-in-southport
• This guide to keeping staff, volunteers, and service users safe from far-right violence:
  https://hopenothate.org.uk/communities/community-resources/

If you represent a VCFSE organisation and have concerns or information you would like us to be aware of and/or to feed into conversations with colleagues in Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police, please contact us.

Brian Carr
Chief Executive