The hero councilor who formed a human shield to stop the violence escalating in the Leeds riots

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A councilor has been hailed as a hero after trying to calm violent scenes that broke out in Leeds on Thursday night.

Mothin Ali, Green Party councilor for the Gipton and Harehills district, said he returned home at 3am on Friday morning after trying to stop people throwing objects and adding to the already raging fires.

He was filmed dramatically kicking a bin that was being dragged towards the fire by two youths – one wearing a balaclava – and with his other hand stopping another adult from throwing a wooden pallet into the fire.

Calling for calm in the morning after the violence, he said The Independent: “The police were not around. I don’t want to criticize them, but they left the scene and tried to come back and establish control – but they were pelted with bricks and bottles and chased away.

“Our neighborhood policing team are fantastic and really care about our community, but they haven’t had the resources or support they need.

“They had no shields and no helmets. I and a few others tried to form a human shield. We stood in front of the bricks and bottles and tried to give the police a way to retreat.”

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West Yorkshire Police battled the “serious incident of disturbance” in the Harehills estate as residents were urged to stay indoors as large crowds gathered in the streets.

The force promised that those responsible would face “the full weight of the law”. Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan said a “family incident” had sparked the trouble and the actions of police and social services workers had been “misinterpreted”.

Recalling what went through his mind when he intervened in the riots, Mr Ali said in a broken voice: “This is my community, these are my people, regardless of how they behaved. This behavior is unacceptable, but we need people to step in and calm things down when they can. I have a position of authority and I must use it.

“I took the trash from these lads, and I credit them for showing me respect and moving away. They didn’t try anything else.

“Later on, the crowd changed and was more aggressive. I had people pushing and shoving me. I don’t even know if I was afraid, I wasn’t thinking about it. I was just thinking about my community.”

He said he took a small hit to the head, but “nothing to kill me.”

Despite some seizing on Mr Ali’s footage and using it as an opportunity to blame him for the riots, many praised him for his behaviour.

Nate Higgins, another Green councilor based in Newham, London, wrote of X: “Mothin Ali here is behaving like a freaking superhero… I doubt some of the people here will recognize his heroic behavior tonight to stay”.

Conservative activist group Turning Point UK added that it was “trying to prevent disorder and stop bins being pushed into fires”.

“Last night Ali was a hero,” he wrote.

Mr Ali spoke passionately about Harehills, admitting he was heartbroken by the images of violence shared in the media and online.

He said: “We are not the richest community in the world, but the people here matter. Harehills has its share of problems, there is a lot of poverty and lots of different communities trying to make Britain their home.

“It’s always been that stepping stone for immigrant communities to come in, establish a base and move on to better things.

“We have people with language problems who don’t understand how the system works. Many people have come from troubled backgrounds and anything in a pot can make them distrust the authorities.

“Harehills are the people who put out the fire. People band together when all are against us and do whatever we can to survive.

“No one wants to see the destruction on your doorstep, it was heartbreaking. It will have a long-lasting impact on our community.”

Nigel Farage was accused of inflaming tensions in the area after he blamed the riot on “subcontinental politics”.

Alex Sobel, Labor MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, responded to the reform leader’s post on X: “This is a situation you know nothing about and no one will inform.

“Inflame a situation with misinformation. Politicians have a responsibility not to aggravate situations, especially without knowing them. I expect you to apologize.”

Police have confirmed that no one has been reported injured so far, but have asked people to refrain from speculating about the incident.