Violent riots break out in Leeds and East London

LONDON: Widespread rioting broke out in Leeds on Thursday night, sparked by children being forcibly removed from their families by social services, and there were also riots in east London linked to protests in Bangladesh.

In Harehills, a deprived area of ​​East Leeds where many immigrants, mostly British Pakistanis, live, a double-decker bus burst into flames after it was set on fire, police cars were smashed and overturned and fires lit on the road. Bricks and stones could be seen hurled at police vans, and police who were initially not in riot gear had to retreat, along with fire crews, leaving residents to fend for themselves. The rioters threw wheelie bins, a mattress and a fridge into the fire and could be seen laughing filming it on their phones.

The riot in Leeds was sparked when social services arrived at a house in Harehill at 5pm to collect the children from a family. When social services were met with hostility, the police were called. Initially, the residents protested against these children who were removed by fire and stone pelting. Then the crowds gathered and turned into full-scale spontaneous riots.

Deputy Chief Constable Pat Twiggs said: “As the disorder escalated, damage was caused to vehicles and several fires broke out. We continuously assessed the situation and took the decision to deploy specialist public order officers who then came under a barrage of bricks and rockets from a large group. A decision was made to temporarily withdraw these officers as it was clear that the police were their only target. This allowed community mediation to continue to defuse the situation.” Police and fire crews returned after midnight.

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Several arrests were made in connection with the disorder overnight and more arrests will be made in the coming days. Harehills witnessed major riots in 2001.

In Whitechapel, east London, home to a large ethnic Bangladeshi population, shortly before 8pm police were called to two groups of men fighting in the street, throwing objects at each other as that a group was trying to storm a building believed to be connected to a political building. party in Bangladesh. Two policemen were injured and several cars were damaged. A man was arrested. The Met Police said: “The disturbance is believed to be linked to protests in Bangladesh in recent days, which have resulted in deaths.”