How did Oxford avoid the anti-immigration riots?

Anti-racism protesters turned out to support refugees and migrants

With our TV screens full of images of rioting over the summer, asylum seekers housed at a hotel in Oxford felt tense as rumours swirled that extremists were about to target the city.

Fires had been started at other hotel sites, with people trapped inside - could that happen here too?

As the time approached when the threatened protest was set to take place, fears grew.

Mark Goldring, director of charity Asylum Welcome, was there.

"Chanting started outside the hotel... and at first there was a real sense of worry," he said.

"And then you realised that... it was supporting, encouraging messages.

"And it was the counter-demonstrators who were chanting that basically Oxfordshire was welcoming these refugees and no harm was going to come to them."

That was the story throughout Oxford, with hundreds of demonstrators turning out at locations across the city in support of refugees and asylum seekers.

The anti-immigration protest that had been expected did not materialise.

So how did Oxford escape the problems seen in other parts of the country?

Despite its leafy, academic reputation - Oxford is not immune to violence and disorder.

But faith leaders say what is special about the city is the work that has been done over many decades to build strong relationships and unity.

The Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend Steven Croft, says interfaith relationships in Oxfordshire are strong

The Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend Steven Croft said: "Faith leaders in Oxford in particular have got over 20 years experience now of friendship... and in moments of real wider tension we've been able to fall back on those friendships."

He said even amid growing global divisions caused by the Israel-Gaza war, interfaith relationships remain strong.

"I think they've actually grown much closer in the wake of these two crises, which I'm aware isn't the case elsewhere in the country."

Timing was also likely to be crucial to Oxford escaping the violence and disorder.

Rioting was initially sparked by misinformation online following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport on 29 July.

Asylum Welcome in Oxford appeared on a list circulated online as a possible target.

By that point, the government had already made it clear that justice would be swift for offenders - with some having already appeared in court by August 7, when the anti-immigration protest in Oxford was rumoured to have been planned for.

In other places, where protests did happen that day, counter-demonstrations tended to be larger than the anti-immigration protests.

But Louise Gordon from the Oxford Jewish Congregation says personal connections were also important at that moment.

"Our synagogue community reached out immediately to the local mosques with which we have contact to say that we were feeling great solidarity with them, and many people joined on the march that was the anti-rioting march.

She believes when you have people who are working together and volunteering together "that's where the unity comes from when it's real grass roots and really interwoven."

Anti-racism campaigner Shaista Aziz says there is still fear - particularly among Muslim women

There are warnings against complacency though - and with an increase in religious hate crimes, those in the Muslim community say anxiety felt at the time of the riots continues.

Shaista Aziz is one of the founders of the anti-racism campaign group The Three Hijabis and lives in Oxford.

"It made me feel really sad that I was having to think twice about whether I was ok and safe enough to leave the house," she said.

"And not just me, women in my family, we were having these discussions.

"And we continue to have these discussions, because we are aware that even though we live in a relatively safe city... when there is something happening nationally it does impact you - it impacts your mental wellbeing, your sense of safety and your sense of belonging."

Those who feared they might be a focal point for disorder also say the underlying causes of the riots still need to be addressed.

Mr Goldring said: "One of the real challenges is nothing to do with refugees.

"It's that ordinary long-term British resident people are struggling to access health services, they're struggling to access dentists, they're struggling to be able to afford housing in this environment and people are of course using foodbanks extensively.

"So that underlying feeling of exclusion and poverty is not about refugees."

The government said it is taking a number of measures to prevent further disorder - including putting "thousands more neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs back on the streets" and reviewing counter-extremism strategies.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "There’s lots to debate on all kinds of policy issues – but no one should make excuses for violence or thuggery that risks public safety.

"This was brazen criminality, perpetrated in many cases by those with existing criminal convictions."