A riot erupted in the northern English city of Leeds on Thursday night as violent thugs set a bus on fire and tipped over a police car.
Terrified residents took to the streets to defend their property after a mob descended on the Harehills neighbourhood, forcing police to retreat from the scene. Questions remain about why the city was left unprotected as it burned.
Multiple reports say the mass riot broke out after social services took away four children from a family. One local restaurant owner told The Times that some residents responded by setting fires and “throwing stones.”
West Yorkshire Police said in a statement that when officers arrived at the scene, “More people started to attend the location and a decision was made to remove the agency workers and the children to a safe place.”
People shared footage of the riot on TikTok and X. One video shows a man attempting to set fire to a bus while people look on:
An eyewitness told the Mail: “It was surreal. Rocks getting launched, bottles thrown, kids in balaclavas everywhere charging with bins.
“Furniture was thrown on to the bus that’s been set ablaze to keep it burning. It’s just carnage.”
Local Green Party councillor Mothin Ali—who earlier this year declared his election to Leeds City Council a “win for the people of Gaza”—begged the rioters to stop, saying “there’s children in there,” as police stayed back from the scene until later in the night.
Politicians from across the political spectrum condemned the riot. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote on X: “The politics of the subcontinent are currently playing out on the streets of Leeds. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
When the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, Alex Sobel, accused Farage of “inflaming a situation with misinformation” and demanded an apology, Farage hit back, responding: “When will you and the Labour Party apologise for irresponsible mass migration?”
New home secretary Yvette Cooper wrote on X: “I am appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles & public transport in Leeds tonight. Disorder of this nature has no place in our society.”
Meanwhile, Donna Jones, chairman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, told MailOnline that the riots were a sign of “community breakdown.”
People’s lives have been put at risk and over £1 million of criminal damage and arson has been caused to public property including the double decker bus. Taking to the streets in this kind of direct action, rioting, setting fire to things and smashing up police cars, it’s a clear sign of lack of community cohesion [at] its worst level. There is never any just cause to take such violent and extreme actions, and those involved should feel the full force of the law.
This is not the first time West Yorkshire’s Harehills neighbourhood has been hit by a serious social disturbance. In 2001, a riot broke out after the wrongful arrest of a Bengali man, resulting in 26 cars being burnt out, and two police officers and two journalists severely injured. In 1995, groups of youths burnt down the Jolly Brewer pub in the Hyde Park district, just three miles away.
