The never-seen-before images of riots in Leeds splashed all over the media shocking the public in the United Kingdom and triggering the far-right leader Nigel Farage to term it ” sub-continent culture”. The ‘serious disorder incident’ as termed by the police created chaos in the area inhabited mainly by immigrants.
Huge crowds became violent, setting a double-decker bus on fire and overturning a police vehicle after Social Services took children away from a Roma Gypsy family. The Social services and police remove children from families where they judge the environment unsafe for them.
The Harehills, a suburb of Leeds, a mile away from the city centre, is not new to rioting. The majority of the residents are the lower income group migrants.
The riots erupted after police came to take away a boy into the care of social workers who were experiencing hostility while dealing with child protection issues.
Shouting crowds were heard and seen encircling police wan when the boy was being bundled away. Some people from the neighbourhood responded by setting fires and throwing stones.
A young boy in his football t-shirt was seen being hauled from his home and bundled into the police van. At least three kids were removed from their parents and taken into care.
On social media, the far-right groups started attacking the immigrants, mainly Muslim residents of the neighbourhood for the sorry state of disorder. Harehills Green party councillor, Mothin Ali himself was accused of being complicit in rioting..
Poverty-stricken Harehills and Gipton wards of Leeds, in the 3% most deprived in the UK, are known for alcoholism and substance abuse. There have been several incidents of stabbings and murders in this most populous area of Leeds. There were mass riots in 2001. An estimated 31000 people live in the area having an inflated crime rate of 241.4 crimes per 1,000 residents against the national average of 75.88.
