Staff at a law firm targeted by far-right rioters remain terrified of going to work and fear having their office torched.
Ono Okeregha, who leads Immigration Advice Service in Oldham, said he woke up last Monday, after a weekend of watching violent disorder across Britain, to find his place of work on a hit-list for masked demonstrators to assemble outside days later.
“Staff and clients came across the list and we were inundated with calls, emails and messages,” he told the Express.
“It was difficult because it was unprecedented. We saw the scenes on television [of the riots] and then they came to our doorstep with us being actually named. It makes you feel very vulnerable.
“We were very concerned for our clients and our staff in terms of what was going to happen: were people going to come round and set the place on fire? Because we’d seen places had been burned.
“We had heard about some immigration lawyers being targeted on social media individually through LinkedIn so they were very worrying times for us in terms of the welfare and safety of our clients and colleagues.”
Okeregha said the organisation immediately began taking action to safeguard the concerned staff and clients, as well as protecting its premises.
“One of the first things we did, which is worrying in itself, was to take the signs down from the building which identified us,” the director said.
“We had prominent signs on the building that felt very vulnerable. We asked staff to work from home straight away and asked clients not to come to the office in case they came to harm.
“We went as far as getting a private, security company to keep a watch on the building just to protect the property and any clients who hadn’t heard about it and came to the office.”
When the police visited they told Okeregha he was taking the right steps in securing the building and keeping staff away. They also impressed on him that they were taking the threat incredibly seriously.
The list which included 38 other locations across Britain told masked demonstrators to assemble at 8pm on Wednesday, August 7 and, as the fateful day rolled around, Okeregha prepared for all scenarios.
He continued: “We waited with bated breath because we didn’t know what time they would turn up; whether they would come in the middle of the night and burn the place down.
“On the actual day itself, we were on edge. It was like someone putting your home address on the internet and posting it to people who don’t mean you well.
“A lot of people spend a lot of time in the office and they felt vulnerable. The address had been identified to the whole world and people have been asked to come and perpetrate violence and demonstrations.”
As the minutes ticked by, from the safety of home, Okeregha kept a close eye. He monitored both a local news website’s livestream of the counter-demonstration and a feed from his CCTV.
The director was reassured to see that his screens were filled not with masked-up rioters but around 150 supportive protesters holding banners of solidarity.
“We’d heard there was a big counter-protest planned and that members of the community would come out and support us,” he continued.
“But we didn’t anticipate the sheer number of people who came out on the day.
“We are ever so grateful to the local community in Oldham who have been extremely supportive of us. We can’t thank them enough [or] repay them fully for the love they’ve shown to us. It was really overwhelming.”
In the end, the rallying call on far-right platforms to demonstrate outside the offices went unheeded.
It was only the police, journalists and counter-protesters who turned up.
However, as the crowds disappeared into the night and the news cycle moved on from tales of disorder, the fear and anxiety caused by the list did not die.
“It’s still lingering because some staff and clients are still not comfortable coming back to the offices, that’s the long-term impact of this,” Okeregha added.
“It’s not a one-off and it’s gone, we’re still very worried, apprehensive and concerned.”
Have you been impacted by the riots? Get in touch zak.garnerpurkis@reachplc.com