With unrest likely to flare up again over the weekend, senior officers said a “significant police presence” would remain in the Harehills area and vowed any further attempts to spark violence would be met with a “robust response”.
Friday 19 July 2024 14:43, United Kingdom
Several arrests have been made following riots in Leeds, which saw a double-decker bus set alight, a police car overturned, stones thrown and residents told to stay indoors.
West Yorkshire Police have confirmed the Troubles in Harehills The violence erupted after police officers came to help social workers with a child protection issue and were attacked.
Police said they would make further arrests in the coming days and vowed to “leave no stone unturned” in their hunt for those behind Thursday night’s unrest.
With unrest likely to flare up again over the weekend, senior officers said a “significant police presence” would remain in the area and vowed that any further attempts to spark violence would be met with a “robust response”.
This came after the Prime Minister Mr Keir Starmer condemned the riots as “shocking and shameful” Leeds and gave his full support to the police to “take the strongest possible action” against the perpetrators.
In a statement, West Yorkshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Pat Twiggs said: “There has understandably been a lot of speculation, comment and concern following the disturbances in Harehills, Leeds, overnight.
“Our officers responded to a call from Children’s Social Services at around 5pm yesterday (Thursday 18 July) after social workers reported encountering hostility when dealing with a child protection matter.
“The responding officers were attacked and helped child welfare staff to retreat to safety.
“As the unrest escalated, vehicles were damaged and several fires were started.”
He added: “We continually assessed the situation and took the decision to deploy specialist public order officers who were then subjected to a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group.
“It was decided to temporarily withdraw these officers because it was clear that the police were their only target.
“This allowed community mediation to continue in order to calm the situation.
“The police then returned to the scene with their fellow firefighters to extinguish the remaining fires, which were self-contained and did not pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and the officers were able to fully restore order.
“Throughout the night several arrests have been made in connection with the unrest and further arrests will be made in the coming days.”
Learn more:
How could an apparent incident escalate into such a level of disorder?
Investigators are currently examining CCTV and social media to identify those involved.
Mr Twiggs said: “We will spare no effort to trace all those involved and will work closely with our criminal justice partners to bring them to justice.”
He added: “It is important to recognise that the disorder and damage was caused by a criminal minority determined to disrupt the community.
“There will be a significant police presence in Harehills over the weekend and any further attempts to commit crime or cause public disorder will be dealt with vigorously.”
Following the violence, the Minister of the Interior Yvette Cooperwho represents a constituency in West Yorkshire, said those responsible “must face the full force of the law”.
Referring to his statement, a spokeswoman for 10 Downing Street said: “He (Sir Keir) would echo the statement that the scenes we saw last night were shocking and shameful. And disorder of this nature has no place in our society.
“He would therefore like to thank West Yorkshire Police and the emergency services for their rapid support.
“The police have our full support to carry out their investigations and take the strongest possible action against the perpetrators of these acts in order to guarantee the safety of the public.”
West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin also said she was “absolutely appalled by the violent and thoughtless actions” seen in Harehills.
She added: “Such criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and I am in contact with West Yorkshire Police for regular updates on the progress of their investigation.
“I am relieved that no one was seriously injured in this incident. We will provide all possible support to the people of Harehills following the violence in their community.”
Green Party councillor for Gipton and Harehills Mothin Ali described the scenes as “absolute chaos” and called on the community to remain calm and unite following the unrest.
He said: “We were trying to protect the police, to act as human shields for the police, because they were there without helmets, without shields, under the throwing of bricks and bottles. So we were trying to calm people down and act as a protective barrier.”
