Police across the UK will be out in force this weekend and mosques are tightening their security following rioting and other violent incidents since Monday's killing of three children in northwest England.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of the girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the seaside town of Southport.
Violent incidents erupted in Southport, the northeastern town of Hartlepool, London and elsewhere in reaction to false information that spread rapidly on social media claiming the suspect in the stabbings was a radical Islamist migrant.
In an attempt to quash the misinformation, police have emphasised that the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, was born in Britain.
However, more than a dozen demonstrations by anti-immigration protesters are planned across the UK this weekend, including in the vicinity of at least two mosques in Liverpool this evening.
Several counter-demonstrations by those opposing racism are also planned.
Mosques will also be on a heightened state of alert, reviewing procedures for fire safety, security camera surveillance and protecting entrances and exits, the Muslim Council of Britain said.
Its Secretary General Zara Mohammed said representatives from hundreds of mosques agreed to strengthen security measures at a meeting yesterday.
Many also reported concerns for the safety of their worshippers after receiving threatening and abusive phone calls.
"I think there's a sense within the community that we're also not going to be afraid, but we will be careful and cautious," Ms Mohammed said.
Authorities said British police chiefs had agreed to step up resources and deploy officers in large numbers over the weekend to deter any violence.
"We will have surge capacity in our intelligence, in our briefing, and in the resources that are out in local communities," Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council Gavin Stephens told BBC Radio.
"There will be additional prosecutors available to make swift decisions, so we see swift justice."
Police in Southport, where hundreds of anti-immigration protesters attacked police, set vehicles alight and hurled bricks at a mosque on Tuesday evening, said they were aware of planned protests and had "extensive plans and considerable police resources" on hand to deal with any disorder.
"I want our communities to be assured that we are fully prepared to deal with anyone intent on causing disorder," said Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims of Merseyside Police, the force that oversees Southport.
Police in Northern Ireland also said they were planning a "proportionate policing response" after learning of plans by various groups to block roads, stage protests and march to an Islamic Centre in Belfast over the weekend.
