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This was a period of growing tension in the world and growing anti-immigrant feeling in the UK. This came partly from some politicians and much of the popular press who stirred up feeling against Jewish immigrants to get votes or increase sales, and partly from the National Sailors' and Firemen's Union who resented foreign merchant seamen, especially the Chinese.

The 1905 Aliens Act severely restricted immigration, the first of many laws to do so in the 20th century. Public opinion was also turned against foreign immigrants as a result of a series of terrorist actions, including the ‘Houndsditch Outrage’ and the ‘Siege of Sidney Street’, which were carried out in London by opponents of the Russian government. In the years that followed 1905, immigration levels were low.

World War One brought a sharp rise in nationalism and violence directed against German and Austrian residents. This was especially the case in 1915 when a German submarine sank a passenger ship, the Lusitania. Many German shops and businesses were attacked and Germans and Austrians were taken away and interned.

On the other hand, some immigrants were welcomed during the war. A quarter of a million Belgians fleeing their wartorn country - the biggest influx of refugees ever to the UK - were generally welcomed and well received and thousands of wounded Indian troops were looked after in Brighton’s Grand Pavilion.

After the war, there were serious tensions over employment between returning servicemen and seamen from Africa, Asia and the West Indies. Violence with a strong racist element erupted in 1919 in Liverpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, London and other ports. These riots took place between January and August and resulted in five deaths and many vandalised properties.