Leeds, the city that gave us Spice Girl Melanie Brown and Harry Potter actor Matthew Lewis, has been trending nationwide this week, and not for good reasons. Protests in the city have entered their third day, with Friday seeing hundreds of people on the streets of Harehills, UK, demanding that the children who were taken by police be returned.
The chaos began when local officers responded to a call at around 5 PM BST on July 18th in Harehills, an area with high rates of crime, anti-social behaviour, and unemployment. After social workers faced hostility during a child protection case, the police were called to help, and the situation worsened. Adults and teenagers attacked a police car with objects and stones, eventually overturning it on the street. On Thursday, members of the public were filmed setting fire to a double-decker bus, which was reduced to ashes.
Although Friday started relatively peacefully, with hundreds of people demonstrating and chanting “please bring the kids back,” disturbances soon marked the second day of protests in Leeds. Just before midnight, crowds took to the streets, with people live streaming on TikTok.
West Yorkshire Police has issued an statement saying that arrest have been made in Leeds in connection with the incident.
“We have made a number of arrests in connection with the breakout of disorder in Harehills last night, with five people taken into custody. Officers from the Major Enquiry Team continue at a significant pace to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disorder, and we have teams deployed to arrest those who have been identified. We are using all the investigative tools available to us in order to identify those involved. These include traditional witness appeals as well as new and innovative ways of identifying those responsible. We’re making arrests and will continue to do so over the next few days. People will see an increased police presence in the area over the coming days as you would expect. We are grateful to the many members of the public who have already provided key information, and I would urge anyone who has information about those involved in the disorder to contact our officers,” says Assistant Chief Constable Pat Twiggs.
This is not the first time violence and ill-feeling towards police have spilled into street violence in Leeds. In 2001, hundreds of men rampaged in Harehills following the wrongful arrest of an Asian man, Hossein Miah, resulting in over 20 cars being torched, 23 officers and a journalist being hurt, and a shop being burnt down, with damage estimated at £500,000. Five men were later given jail sentences.
In 2019, Harehills residents decided to stay home instead of going out for Bonfire Night, when local police battled a five-hour siege by yobs armed with fireworks and bricks – six officers were injured and three of the rioters were later given jail sentences totaling seven years.
Home Secretary and Labour MP Yvette Cooper was quick to share a message on X (formerly Twitter) on July 18th, condemning the riots in Leeds this week, but the politician has gone quiet since: “I am appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles & public transport in Leeds tonight. Disorder of this nature has no place in our society. My thanks go to West Yorkshire police for their response. I am being kept regularly updated.”
Leeds City Council and the Romanian and Roma community have now released a joint statement where the council has agreed to undertake an urgent review of the case and work with Romanian and Roma-led organizations. “We are asking all communities to remain calm and to ensure that we do not see further disturbances such as those witnessed last night, which brought fear and upset to communities in Harehills. Local people are devastated by what happened, and we want to ensure there is no repeat of the distressing scenes we saw. Such actions will have a long-lasting and harmful impact on our community,” the statement reads.
An Incident Portal has been created where anyone with information, photos, or video footage (including dashcam or doorbell footage) in relation to the disorder can submit it through this link: Public Portal (mipp.police.uk)
Anyone with any information can contact the force under contact West Yorkshire Police by calling 101.