Leeds: How could an obvious incident lead to such unrest? | UK news

Amid the chaos of a feverish night in Leeds, there was confusion about what exactly had happened.

On a street corner in Harehills, a crowd gathered around the charred shell of a former double-decker bus, the smell of smoke in the air as a police helicopter hovered overhead.

Just a few hours after the Police in West Yorkshire described as ‘nests of disorder’the scene on site felt like much more, as dozens of people were still gathered when we arrived.

Some in the community were curious and recorded the events on their phones, while others immediately took action.

Among these people was a group of men, including Mothin Ali, a local councillor, who led a group that attempted to douse the bus with water.

In his subsequent conversation with us, sweating and visibly exhausted, Mr Ali repeatedly mentioned broader societal problems, including issues such as poverty and social exclusion, which he said were part of a powder keg waiting to explode.

Amid the chaos of a feverish night in Leeds, there was confusion about what exactly had happened.

In their statement, police alluded to an incident in which aid workers and some children were taken to a safe location before a crowd gathered.

What happened next sparked scenes that attracted nationwide attention.

The tension was still palpable when we arrived, which may be why the police initially stayed behind and waited until about 2 a.m. for the crowd to disperse before their own vehicles and two fire engines arrived.

The flames may have been extinguished, but the question now is not only what happened, but also why a single incident could escalate into such unrest.