Leeds riots Harehills latest news: Arrests made over disorder sparked by social services facing ‘hostility’

Police have warned that further arrests will be made as part of a “relentless” investigation.

Five people have so far been taken into custody following the violent scenes on the outskirts of Leeds.

From the scene in Harehills this morning, the Press Association spoke to people who live in the area.

Paul, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said he left his house around 7pm on Thursday to see people throwing bricks and stones at a police van.

Paul, who asked to be identified by his first name only, said: “The officers tried to hold on but had to get back into the van.”

He said he was worried because “I have children and I don’t know how far people can go.”

He said: “The most shocking thing was when the bus caught fire. There was a loud bang and everyone ran away. I don’t like my children to be in this situation. It’s just not normal.”

“It was an isolated incident and I think everyone jumped on it. I don’t think it was any one person, I think everyone thought it was an excuse to attack the police.”

He was filmed dramatically pushing back a wheelie bin being pulled towards a fire by two youths – one wearing a balaclava – and with the other, stopping another adult from throwing a wooden pallet into the fire.

Calling for calm the day after the violence, he said The Independent:”The police were not there. I don’t want to criticize them, but they left the scene and tried to come back to regain control, but they were pelted with bricks and bottles and chased away.

Read the full interview here:

Nigel Farage is facing a backlash this morning after posting a message on X about last night’s unrest.

Located thousands of miles away in the United States, where he was attending the RNC conference in support for Donald TrumpMr Farage has given his reaction to the unrest that broke out in Harehills in Leeds.

He wrote: “The politics of the subcontinent are being played out on the streets of Leeds right now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

However, the remarks provoked a backlash from local Labour MPs, including Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds Central and Headingley.

Mr. Sobel wrote: “This is a situation you know nothing about and no one has informed you about.

“You are making the situation worse with false information. Politicians have a responsibility not to make the situation worse, especially when they are unaware of it. I expect you to apologize.”

Mr Farage replied: “When are you and the Labour Party going to apologise for this irresponsible mass migration?”

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

He described the situation as “totally unacceptable” and praised the officers who responded to the disturbances in the Harehills area of ​​Leeds.

He said: “What should have been a standard task quickly turned into a night of chaos, highlighting the need for strong support and resources for those tasked with maintaining public safety.

“Despite the conditions, the resilience of our colleagues has been nothing short of remarkable.

“In the face of aggression and disorder, their speed of reaction and their courage were essential to bring the situation to a safe end.”

Green councillor Mothin Ali was also filmed dramatically pushing back a wheelie bin being pulled towards a fire by two youths.

He also stopped another adult from throwing a wooden pallet on the fire.

Councillor Ali said: “This is my community, these are my people, regardless of their behaviour. This behaviour is unacceptable, but we need people to step up and calm things down when they can. I have a position of authority and I need to use it.”

“I took the trash can from the hands of these young boys and, thanks to them, they showed me respect and walked away. They didn’t try anything else.

“Later, the crowd changed and became more aggressive. People were pushing and shoving me. I don’t even know if I was scared, I wasn’t thinking about it. I was just thinking about my community.”

Leeds City Council has agreed to undertake an “urgent review” of a “family” matter after meeting with representatives of the Roma community today.

A riot broke out in the Harehills area of ​​Leeds on Thursday night after social workers reported hostility during a child protection issue.

The children were taken to safety while police officers were there to help them. But faced with renewed hostilities, the authorities were forced to withdraw.

A statement from Leeds City Council released on Friday said: “Today representatives from the Roma community met with Leeds City Council to raise concerns about a family matter yesterday (18 July 2024).

“The council agreed to undertake an urgent review of the case and to work with Romanian and Roma-led organisations, churches, the Romanian Honorary Consulate and other representatives of the family in the best interests of the family and the wider Roma community.

“We are asking all communities to remain calm and ensure that we do not see further disturbances such as those seen last night, which have caused fear and confusion in communities across Harehills. Local people are devastated by what has happened and we want to ensure that there is no repeat of the distressing scenes we have seen. Such actions will have a lasting and damaging impact on our community.”

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

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

More and more people began to arrive at the scene and the agency workers and children were taken to a safe place.

A crowd then began to gather and more officers were called to the area where “pockets of disorder” were appearing.

In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said: “More officers have been deployed to the area to assist with the management of this incident.”

Police added that they would conduct a full investigation into “all criminal offences… including damage to vehicles by fire”.

Leeds City Councillor Salma Arif told Channel 4 News that the mood now seemed calmer in the Harehills area following Thursday night’s violent disturbances.

She said she had met with police and community leaders to ensure such an event does not happen again.

Misinformation on social media about the nature of the incident was “extremely unhelpful,” she said, adding that she had “caught on some of that rhetoric” as she tried to de-escalate the situation.

She said: “What I can tell you is that this is an isolated incident. It was an incident that happened with a family in child care, and I obviously can’t go into the details of what happened in that incident.

“But that wasn’t very helpful because it meant the media came to Harehills. And actually, I mean, you’re leaving tomorrow, but as a community we still have to be together to pick up those pieces.”

She said Harehills was “a deprived area, but an incredibly diverse part of the city of Leeds”.