Several arrests have been made after a double-decker bus was set on fire and a police vehicle was overturned amid stone-pelting and disorder as a riot broke out in Leeds, northern England, over what the local council has described as a “family incident”.
“Throughout the night several arrests were made in relation to the disorder and further arrests will be made over the next few days,” West Yorkshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs said on Friday.
In an update on the riot on Thursday night, Twiggs said specialist public order officers who were assisting social services came under a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group and a decision was taken to withdraw these officers temporarily "as it was evident that the police was their sole target".
"Police then returned to the area with fire colleagues to extinguish the remaining fires which were self-contained and didn’t pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and officers were able to fully restore order,” he said.
Far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is facing a backlash after he claimed the clashes represented the “politics of the subcontinent”. Labour MP for Leeds Alex Sobel accused him of “inflaming a situation with misinformation”.
The Labour councillor for Gipton and Harehills, Salma Arif, told LBC that the incident was not linked to the ethnicity or religious beliefs of the people involved, stressing that it was an "isolated family incident" that led to "spontaneous" disorder.
“It has quietened, it is calm. We have already started the clean up on the ground,” Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan told the BBC on Friday.
Asked about the trigger behind the rioting on Thursday night, he added: “There was a family incident earlier in the day that police and our officials attended that the local community got concerned about and that appeared to be the trigger of concern for the groups of people... we always intervene where we need to when children are at risk. It was an incident that was probably misinterpreted, I would say.” Earlier, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper took to social media to say she was “appalled” at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles and public transport overnight as West Yorkshire Police flooded the Harehills area of Leeds to bring the situation under control.
“Disorder of this nature has no place in our society,” said Cooper.
Pointing to the statement, a No 10 Downing Street spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "He would echo that the scenes that we saw last night were shocking and disgraceful. And disorder of this nature has no place in our society.
"That's why he would like to thank West Yorkshire Police and the emergency services for their swift support. And the police have our full support in carrying out their investigations and taking the strongest possible action against perpetrators and keep the public safe." Social media footage showed hundreds on the streets, including some incidents of men attempting to torch public transport vehicles. The police said there have been no reports of any serious injuries and warned that the “full weight of the law” will be brought against those responsible for what they have termed as a “serious public order incident”.
“We would strongly discourage residents from speculating on the cause of this disorder which we believe has been instigated by a criminal minority intent on disrupting community relations,” a West Yorkshire Police statement said.
“Officers are also reviewing footage which has circulated on social media showing offending. All criminal offences, including damage to vehicles from fire, will be fully investigated by detectives from Leeds CID and the force’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team,” the statement added.
West Yorkshire Police are setting up a “specialised website” to allow reports to be made to encourage the public to share information and footage from the disorder.
“Such criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and I am in touch with West Yorkshire Police for regular updates on the progress of their investigation. I would urge everyone to refrain from speculation on social media and if members of the public believe they have footage of criminal behaviour, I would ask for this to be passed on to the police,” said Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire.
“I am relieved that nobody was seriously hurt in this incident – we will provide any support we can to the people of Harehills following the violence perpetrated in their community,” she said.
