On 18 July 2024, a riot took place in the

Harehills Harehills is an inner-city area of east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north east of Leeds city centre. Harehills is situated between the A58 (towards Wetherby) and the A64 (towards York). It sits in the Gipton & Ha ...

area of Leeds, Yorkshire, England. The incident was triggered by a dispute over four children of a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

family being taken into care by social services and police. The situation escalated as residents, angry and filming the police, gathered, forcing the police to retreat. The unrest involved violent confrontations between local residents and police officers, resulting in the overturning of a police car, the torching of a double-decker bus, a bonfire of debris blocking a main road and widespread disorder in the streets.

Background

Harehills is a diverse working class suburb of Leeds, with significant populations of Romani and Pakistanis. In 2020, it was described as the second most socio-economically deprived area in Leeds. Earlier in 2024, Leeds Children’s Services had presented claims to

family court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

that a baby had been injured, and that the family might attempt to take the children out of the country. The judge ruled that the children should be taken into care to prevent this, and placed with extended family in order to keep the children together. The removal and placement was criticised by the barrister for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, claiming that inadequate time was allowed for them to visit and assess safety issues. Harehills has seen civil unrest before with a riot in the same area in 2001 after police were accused of being "heavy handed" in their arrest of a British Asian man over a driving offence. The community is considered to be diverse, and where Leeds' Roma community is mostly based, described by a resident as: "Romanian, Gypsy, Pakistani, Asian – this is what it means to be from Harehills".

Incident

Luxor Street - Harehills Lane - geograph

At 5 pm on 18 July 2024, West Yorkshire police responded to a residential street disturbance in the Gipton and Harehills ward sparked by a dispute over four children from a residential family, being taken into care by

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

. The spark has been described as a "family incident" and a "child protection matter" handled by

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

s. According to '' The Guardian,'' as police attempted to manage the situation, more people began to gather at the scene, with some residents becoming angry and filming the police, leading to increased tension and the eventual outbreak of violence. A crowd began attacking a police car after witnessing an altercation between social services, the police and a local family. Footage shared on social media showed individuals using scooters, pushchairs, bikes, and bats to assault the vehicle. The police car's windows were broken, the car was overturned, and additional officers were dispatched to the area to attempt to control the situation. Videos and images of the riot quickly spread on platforms like X and TikTok, drawing widespread attention to the incident. Cars in the area were reportedly set alight, and two First Leeds buses were attacked, one of which was set on fire. Videos posted on social media from the riot show people speaking Romanian while overturning a police car. iNews reported that police were 'outnumbered' and 'ran away' from the riot and disorder. A number of locals perceived a lack of emergency personnel at the scene for most of the night. Throughout the evening, Gipton and Harehills Councillor

Mothin Ali Mothin Ali is a British Green Party politician and a member of Leeds City Council. Politics Ali was elected to Leeds City Council for the Gipton and Harehills ward at the 2024 election. He was criticised by the Leeds Jewish Representative ...

was present at the scene of the riot attempting to calm the violent situation. Videos were posted during the night, on TikTok and X, of him stopping those present from throwing wooden pallets and wheelie bins onto the fire.

Reactions

Salma Arif, Councillor from Gipton and Harehills, posted on X platform on Thursday standing along with a police inspector, urging people to stay at home, with the BBC noting Arif's comment on the "an ongoing situation currently in Harehills... We are asking everybody in the area please stay at home at this moment in time." Tracy Brabin, the mayor of West Yorkshire, said she had been "reassured no one has been seriously injured but suggest those who are using this to inflame community tensions to think again." During a press conference on 19 July, Ms. Brabin discussed meeting with "key partners," during which they developed a plan to ensure the safety of Harehills, with "imams and the faith leaders ..getting the message out there that we need to stay calm and ensure we don't have what we saw, which was frightening, horrible and unacceptable." Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the Member of Parliament from Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley of West Yorkshire, expressed her dismay stating that she was "appalled at the shocking scenes", and that "disorder of this nature has no place in our society". Richard Burgon, the Member of Parliament for Leeds East, posted on X: "I am on my way back to Leeds from Parliament and am in touch with the police and concerned residents about the on-going incident in Harehills." The MP continued, "The police say no injuries have been reported but are advising people to avoid the area at the moment if possible." British Muslim Green councillor Mothin Ali, who was at the scene trying to calm the situation and urging the police to speak in Urdu, faced online smears and received death threats after the news coverage. ''The Independent'' described how Ali was a "hero", who formed a "human shield" to stop people adding further combustible material to fires.

Aftermath

In response to the riot, the city's council has commenced an "urgent review" concerning its management of child care cases. This decision comes after discussions with members of the Gypsy Roma community, who have accused the authorities of "systemic racism and discrimination" in managing the case involving a family from their community. On Friday, 19 July 2024, some members of the community held a vigil and chanted "please bring the kids back". The children's parents declared a hunger strike until their four children were returned. On 23 July, children were returned to the family. Nine Romanian citizens were detained following the street riot on 18 July, according to Romania's

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

on 21 July. Of these, eight were later released. Police have charged one Romanian man aged 37 with violent disorder and arson that endangered life. The Romanian Consulate in Manchester states they were maintaining communication with the family affected by child custody measures, as well as with British authorities. On 3 August, the BBC reported that police arrested 27 people in connection with the riot. Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs expressed gratitude to those who provided information and indicated more arrests are expected. Journalist Emilia Stankeviciute wrote that "Local contextual factors, such as economic deprivation, can quickly turn minor incidents like this into significant unrest". Right-leaning, libertarian online magazine ''Spiked'' argued that due to the reported diversity of the rioters, integration and cultural tensions may have played a role in the unrest.

References

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