Leeds riots live: Arrests made over Harehills disorder as council undertakes review

A local resident has told of how “frightening” and “worrying” it was on Thursday when the riots broke out in a Leeds suburb.

Naseem Ashfaq told The Independent: “I don’t live too far from where this happened [on] Thursday. It was very frightening and scary for me. I am over 60. [I] never experienced anything like this before.

“Good job I don’t have small children. Can you imagine what it would have been for them?

“It was so scary thinking, what’s going to happen next? Will it get worse? And how far will this go? So worrying.”

After meeting with representatives of the Roma community on Friday, Leeds City Council agreed to undertake an “urgent review” of a “family matter” case.

A riot broke out in the Harehills area of Leeds on Thursday evening after social workers reported hostility when dealing with a child protection issue.

The children were taken to a safe place while police officers attended for support. But when authorities were met with further hostilities, they were forced to withdraw.

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

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

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

He was filmed dramatically kicking away a wheelie bin being dragged towards a fire by two young people – one wearing a balaclava – and with the other hand, stopping another adult from throwing a wooden pallet onto the fire.

The Reform UK leader, who was in the US for the Republican National Convention in Minnesota, posted on social media on Thursday evening as scenes of disorder in the city emerged.

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

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

Five people have so far been taken into custody after the scenes of violent disorder in the Leeds suburb.

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

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

Paul, who asked to be referred to by his first name only, said: “The police were trying to stand their ground but they had to get back in the van.”

He said he was concerned because “I’ve got kids and you don’t know how far people are going to take it”.

He said: “The most shocking thing was when the bus went up – got set on fire. There was a bang and everybody ran. I don’t like my kids being around this. It’s just not right.

“It was just that one incident and then I think everybody jumped on the bandwagon. I don’t think it was one particular people, I think everybody thought it was an excuse to have a go at the police.”