A riot with overturned and torched vehicles took place in Leeds, British media reports. The incidents happened on Thursday evening in the Harehills area. Law enforcement intervened and warned residents to stay indoors. Video recordings on social networks show the scale of the scandal and at least some of those involved speak Romanian.
The riot allegedly broke out after social workers tried to take care of five children. No one has been injured so far, police said, adding that they believe the riot was “instigated by a criminal minority intent on disrupting community relations.”
Home Secretary and West Yorkshire MP Yvette Cooper said she was “appalled by the shocking scenes”, according to the BBC. The owner of a restaurant in Harehills said the disorder was linked to the care of local children, adding that some people responded by lighting fires and “throwing stones”.
Footage showed a fire burning in the middle of a street as hundreds of people gathered. “Let it remain in history! Let the riot police from Bucharest come because we’ll knock them down too”, “Bring the knife! Overturn the car!“, is heard in the background of a video recording while the police car that came to protect the social workers is overturned.
A double-decker bus was set on fire and another was damaged.
In a statement, West Yorkshire’s assistant chief constable Pat Twiggs said: “There has understandably been a great deal of speculation, commentary and concern following the disorder in Harehills, Leeds, overnight.
“Our officers responded to a call from children’s social care at around 5pm yesterday (Thursday 18 July) after social workers reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter.
“Responding officers were attacked and helped children’s social care staff withdraw to a place of safety.
“As the disorder escalated, damage was caused to vehicles and several fires set.”
He added: “We continually assessed the situation and took the decision to deploy specialist public order officers who then came under a barrage of bricks and missiles from a large group.
“A decision was taken to withdraw these officers temporarily as it was evident that the police was their sole target.
“This allowed for further community mediation to take place in order to calm the situation.
“Police then returned to the area with fire colleagues to extinguish the remaining fires which were self-contained and didn’t pose a wider risk. By this point the crowd had diminished and officers were able to fully restore order.
“Throughout the night several arrests were made in relation to the disorder and further arrests will be made over the next few days.”