White man with axe entered Manchester mosque as people prayed

On the evening of 24 February, a white man in his 40s entered Manchester Central Mosque with an axe, a knife, a hammer, and Class B drugs. This came just three days after hardcore fascists rallied in the city, attacking Muslims in the process. And it came just ahead of a prominent by-election the far right is trying to win.

The ‘growing and real risk’ of anti-Muslim attacks

At a particularly important time of the year for the Muslim community (the holy month of Ramadan), people at the mosque were praying peacefully when volunteers spotted an axe in the white man’s bag. As the BBC reported, he had been:

wearing a high-visibility jacket and carrying a large bag

Upon noticing the axe, the volunteers escorted him to a separate room. There:

other weapons including a knife and a hammer were then found

The mosque contacted the police, who arrested the man. Another man who had entered with him had already left by the time officers got there.

Highlighting the “notable rise in threats and hostility over recent years” and “the increase in Islamophobic incidents”, the mosque said:

greater resources are urgently needed to address this growing and real risk.

The volunteers, it believed, had helped to prevent possible actions that could have been “far more serious”.

Statement from Manchester Central Mosque. Fight rising anti-Muslim bigotry and threats! pic.twitter.com/n76AJq9BvH

— Sacha Ismail (@sacha_isma) February 25, 2026

Manchester can send a message to the fascists

Every vote is likely to count in the Manchester by-election in Gorton and Denton, which will be a very close race. The Green Party has been campaigning hard there to stop far-right Reform UK winning, and some polls even show the Greens as the frontrunner.

Local Green candidate Hannah Spencer has spoken out against genocide and the Labour government’s support for it. She has also opposed the hate and divisiveness of the far right. And she’s called for an end to the ongoing underfunding of public services.

The Reform candidate, meanwhile, is an awful misogynist who has never lived in the constituency. He has terrible people around him. He loves genocidal colonial states and inciting race riots. And he has the endorsement of fascists like Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (‘Tommy Robinson’).

👇 We're the People's Choice it's clear

🟩 Vote Green in Gorton and Denton

🤞 HOPE over FEAR! https://t.co/2Ul1jEDGn5

— Manchester Green Party 🐝 (@McrGreenParty) February 25, 2026

By backing Hannah Spencer on 26 February, voters in Gorton and Denton can send a strong message to fascists that their hatred and division are not welcome in Manchester — or anywhere else.

Featured image via the Canary