All you need to know about anti-immigrant violence taking place in Britain

Britain has been convulsed by violence for the past week as crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans clashed with police. The disturbances have been fuelled by right-wing activists using social media to spread misinformation about a knife attack that killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

The violence, some of Britain's worst in years, has led to hundreds of arrests as the government pledges that the rioters will feel the full force of the law after hurling bricks and other projectiles at police, looting shops and attacking hotels used to house asylum-seekers.

As Britain's new government struggles to quell the unrest and announces a standing army of specialist police to deal with rioting, here's a look at what's happening and why.

When did the violence begin?

People across Britain were shocked by what police described as a ferocious knife attack that killed three girls between 6 and 9 on July 29 in Southport, a seaside town north of Liverpool. .