Leeds riots – Latest news from Harehills: ‘Family incident’ sparked violence as bus set on fire

A police cordon remains in place around a burnt-out vehicle on Friday following a night of violent unrest in a Leeds suburb.

Clean-up operations have begun, with police guarding the crime scene as investigations begin to apprehend those responsible.

Craig Nicholls, chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, has issued a statement on last night’s disturbances.

He described this as “completely unacceptable” and praised the police officers who responded to the unrest in the Harehills housing estate in Leeds.

He said: “What should have been a normal operation quickly turned into a night of chaos, highlighting the importance of providing support and resources to those tasked with maintaining public safety.”

“Despite the conditions, the resilience of our colleagues was simply remarkable.

“In the face of aggression and unrest, their quick response and courage were critical to ending the situation safely.”

We now learn more about the response to last night’s fires and why West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service did not immediately send emergency crews to the incident.

It was reported that a double-decker bus was set on fire and fires broke out in several streets in the settlement.

A fire service spokesman said: “After assessing the situation and considering the potential danger to our firefighters, it was determined that it is not safe to extinguish the fires,” a spokesman said.

“We want to reassure the public that we are prepared to respond immediately if lives or homes are in danger.”

Leeds City Council Chief Executive Tom Riordan spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme following last night’s riots.

Regarding the unrest, West Yorkshire Police said they were initially called to a disturbance involving some agency workers and children.

And Mr Riordan said this morning that it was a “family incident”.

He said: “Earlier that same day, there was an incident in a family where the police and our officers were deployed. The incident had caused concern among the local community and appeared to have caused concern among the groups of people.

“I can’t go into detail. It was a family incident and as always we have excellently rated services in Leeds… it was an incident that was probably misinterpreted, I would say.”

As the sun rose over Leeds’ Harehills residential area, the damage from yesterday’s riots was clearly visible.

BBC reporter Tom Ingall reported from the scene this morning as council trucks arrived to clear away debris from the fires on the street.

He said several people he had spoken to said the unrest was related to the arrest of a local family’s children by authorities – but added this was unconfirmed.

“Questions and tidying up and Harehills couldn’t believe it this morning,” he said.

Last night, video footage circulated showing a local councillor apparently preventing people from throwing objects into the fire during unrest in the Harehills housing estate.

The councillor, identified in the video as Councillor Mothin Ali, is seen removing garbage bins from the street fire and wrestling with rioters trying to place a wooden pallet there.

Councillor Ali is a member of the Leeds Green Party, which issued a statement last night.

The party said: “Councillor Mothin Ali is currently in Harehills attempting to defuse the situation that arose this evening. He has attempted to calm the rioters and prevent the situation from getting any worse. A full statement will be released later.”

West Yorkshire Police have assured the public that they will fully investigate yesterday’s disturbances, in which a police car was overturned and a bus was set on fire.

This comes as police review footage circulating on social media showing crimes.

A spokesman said: “All crimes, including damage to vehicles by fire, are fully investigated by detectives from Leeds CID and the police’s Homicide and Crime Squad.”

“We want to make it very clear that we will apply the full force of the law against those responsible.”

After riots broke out in the Harehills housing estate in Leeds last night, social media was flooded with images and videos from eyewitnesses.

Questions about responsibility were also raised, with fingers being pointed at some groups and individuals.

West Yorkshire Police, which is treating the case as a “serious public order breach”, said this morning it was aware of false information on social media.

A spokesman said: “We would strongly advise residents not to speculate about the cause of these disturbances. We are convinced that they were instigated by a criminal minority seeking to disrupt community relations.”

“Officials are aware of false information circulating on social media pointing to possible perpetrators.”

So what do we know about Harehills?

The suburb is located in the east of Leeds and belongs to the Gipton and Harehills district, where just over 30,000 people live in 11,000 houses.

In 2020, it was one of the poorest areas in Leeds.

The largest religious group is the Muslim community, which makes up almost 40 percent of the population.

And last year, violent and sexual crimes, damage to public order and property, and arson were the most frequently reported crimes.

More than 15 hours after the public unrest began, questions are being asked about how it could have happened.

West Yorkshire Police said its officers were called to an incident at an address in the Harehills housing estate at 5pm on Thursday, where they found an “ongoing disturbance” involving agency workers and children.

More and more people came to the scene and the agency staff and the children were taken to a safe place.

A crowd then formed and additional officers were called to the area where “riots” were taking place.

A statement from West Yorkshire Police said: “Additional officers have been dispatched to the area to assist in dealing with this incident.”

Police added that they would fully investigate “all crimes … including damage to vehicles caused by fire.”