Leeds riots: What sparked the night of violent disorder?
Dramatic scenes unfolded on the streets of Leeds on Thursday as rioters clashed with police and set a double-decker bus ablaze.
Footage of the events shows rioters overturning and destroying a police car, later throwing bricks at intervening officers. Police say they are still attending the “serious disorder incident”, confirming no one has been hurt at this stage.
A statement from West Yorkshire Police said: “We want to make it very clear that the full weight of the law will be brought against those responsible.
“Residents who have perhaps gathered to observe the incidents are asked to keep away from the disorder while officers manage the incident.”
The force believes the events were “instigated by a criminal minority intent on disrupting community relations”, urging people to avoid social media speculation.
An earlier statement from the police on Thursday stated “officers attended and found an ongoing disturbance which involved some agency workers and some children”.
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Leeds City Council’s chief executive Tom Riordan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday morning that the trigger was a “family incident”.
He said: “There was a family incident earlier in the day that police attended and our officials attended that the local community got concerned about and that appeared to be the trigger of concern for the groups of people.
“I can’t go into any detail. It was a family incident and as always in Leeds we have outstanding rated services... it was an incident that was probably misinterpreted, I would say.”
Speaking as the events unfolded, local councillor Mothin Ali addressed the cause of the riots, which he called a “travesty”.
“It took an action by social services,” he said. “That action sparked a gathering of people.” He added while the scenes were contained at first, the violence grew more drastic throughout the evening.
He added: “This sort of thing was just bubbling under the surface.”
First Bus, the operator who owns the damaged buses, has removed its vehicles from the Harehills area. A spokesperson said: “A team from our depot was quickly at the scene to provide support to our drivers and customers.
“We can confirm that both drivers are unhurt and we have no reports of injuries to passengers.
“One of our vehicles has been set on fire but was empty as the customers had earlier been transferred to another bus together with the driver.”
Police say inquiries are still ongoing, and urge anyone with information to come forward using a specially made online service which officers are in the process of setting up.
