Leeds riots live: Arrests made over Harehills unrest as city council urgently reviews ‘family matter’ case

West Yorkshire Police arrested five people following riots in Leeds on Thursday night – and defended their decision to withdraw officers in the face of hostile crowds.

On Thursday evening, violence broke out in the Harehills district of Leeds. Shocking videos show a police car being overturned and a double-decker bus being set on fire.

Police said the unrest broke out when officers responded to reports that social workers had encountered hostility while dealing with a child protection issue.

Nigel Farage was accused of stoking tensions after blaming the Leeds riots on “subcontinent politics”.

The chairman of Reform UK, who was in the US to attend the Republican Party convention in Minnesota, posted on social media on Thursday evening as unrest broke out in the city.

“The politics of the subcontinent are currently playing out on the streets of Leeds,” he wrote on X within a few hours: “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

A city councillor has been hailed as a hero after trying to calm the violent scenes that broke out in Leeds on Thursday night.

Mothin Ali, Green Party councillor for the Gipton and Harehills district, said he returned home at 3am on Friday morning after trying to stop people throwing objects and fuelling the already raging fires.

He was filmed dramatically kicking away a rubbish bin being dragged towards a fire by two young people, one of whom was wearing a balaclava, and using his other hand to stop another adult from throwing a wooden pallet into the fire.

The Home Secretary described the violent riots that broke out on the streets of Leeds as “brazen criminality”.

On Thursday evening (July 18), violence broke out in the Leeds district of Harehills. Shocking videos show a police car being overturned and a double-decker bus being set on fire. Five people have since been arrested.

In an interview with the BBC on Friday (19 July), Yvette Cooper said: “Many people have seen some of the really shocking scenes of brazen criminality on social media and so it is really important that these individuals face the full force of the law and that is one of the issues that the police have spoken to me about this evening.”

A local resident described how “scary” and “disturbing” it was on Thursday when riots broke out in a suburb of Leeds.

Naseem Ashfaq said The Independent: “I live not far from where this happened on Thursday. It was very scary and frightening for me. I am over 60. I have never experienced anything like this before.

“It’s a good thing I don’t have small children. Can you imagine what it would have been like for them?

“It was so scary to think about what’s going to happen next. Is it going to get worse? And how far is this going to go? So disturbing.”

A woman was released on bail “pending further investigations” after a car was “deliberately set on fire” with two children inside, police said in a separate update.

The incident occurred in Tong Way, Leeds, at around 10.52pm on Thursday, but it is unclear whether it is linked to the unrest in the city that night.

According to West Yorkshire Police, a woman reported that her car had been deliberately set on fire while her two children were still in the vehicle.

She and a neighbor brought the children to safety and were examined by paramedics. There were no concerns, police said.

In connection with the incident, a 19-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of arson and released on bail pending the outcome of the investigation.

A local resident described how “scary” and “disturbing” it was on Thursday when riots broke out in a suburb of Leeds.

Naseem Ashfaq said The Independent: “I live not far from where this happened on Thursday. It was very scary and frightening for me. I am over 60. I have never experienced anything like this before.

“It’s a good thing I don’t have small children. Can you imagine what it would have been like for them?

“It was so scary to think about what’s going to happen next. Is it going to get worse? And how far is this going to go? So disturbing.”