It may be weird me bringing it up because the thing is when I initially saw Liverpool breaking into a riot well I wondered whether it was just a brawl happening or whatever but it turned out much more serious than that because Liverpool has a reputation for being rough and poor. Now though it seems there's unrest happening in even areas I would view as fairly middle class.
Keep an eye out when you see the riot footage and look at the architecture as well as the general state of the place. Also regarding Sunderland, the media are just saying it's a generic 'car', police here regularly make use of unmarked vehicles for plain clothes undercover operations. I wouldn't be shocked if something happened because it's literally just one car being shown on fire and nothing else.
Why did they only set that car on fire? That's a question to ponder.
From what I can see, the media calls them "counter protesters" but it appears the left bloc are itching to stir up even more trouble knowing that their opponents will be the ones facing the consequences.