Arrests promised after ‘night of chaos’ in Harehills

Leading figures in West Yorkshire have said they expect arrests to be made after violence broke out in a Leeds suburb.

A police car was flipped and a bus was torched in Harehills during the disorder, which broke out at around 17:00 BST on Thursday and continued for several hours.

A number of police cordons remained in place on Friday, with the trouble “instigated by a criminal minority intent on disrupting community relations”, West Yorkshire Police said.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the scenes as “shocking and disgraceful” and said the police would have the government’s “full support” in investigating the incident.

“Disorder of this nature has no place in our society,” the PM added.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Leeds City Council chief executive Tom Riordan said the disorder was triggered by a family incident in Harehills.

He added: “When you see the pictures on social media it looks shocking, but there were lots of people in the community there observing and trying to calm things.

“This is not a community where this happens regularly. This is a very diverse community that generally gets on well.”

Mehwish Ahmed, who lives on Luxor Street, where the incident started, described children and social workers being removed from a house by police officers.

“Everybody gathered around [the house] and it just got out of control to be honest,” she said.

She told the BBC that up to 50 police officers were present as a crowd gathered and became aggressive.

“The crowd just followed from there and that’s when it spread onto the other streets,” she said.

“I don’t think a lot of people knew what was going on either but were obviously just joining in.”

Ms Ahmed added: “We’ve been here for about 11 years but have never seen anything like that before.”

Earlier on Friday, Home Secretary Cooper said those responsible would face “the full force of the law”.

Ms Cooper said: “The scenes of criminality and disorder in Leeds last night were disgraceful, including attacks on police vehicles and public transport, and will have been very distressing for local residents.”

Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said she was “appalled” by the scenes.

“Such criminal behaviour will not be tolerated and I am in touch with West Yorkshire Police for regular updates on the progress of their investigation,” she said.

“I am relieved that nobody was seriously hurt in this incident – we will provide any support we can to the people of Harehills following the violence perpetrated in their community.”

Mothin Ali, Green Party councillor for Gipton and Harehills, was seen on social media trying to stop troublemakers at the scene and appealed for calm.

Speaking to the BBC at the scene just after midnight, Mr Ali said: “This community is yours. It belongs to us.

“This bus was ours. This library was ours. The traffic lights was ours. We need to take pride in our community and make sure these things can’t happen here.”

Mr Ali added: “I hope we can really get to the bottom of what’s happened. We need real investment in these communities. We need housing looked at properly – we’ve got some of the poorest quality housing in the country.

“All of these issues lead to people’s frustrations, but this is not the way to take it out.”

West Yorkshire Police Federation chairman Craig Nicholls said the resilience of officers in the face of a “night of chaos” was “nothing short of remarkable”.

“In the face of aggression and disorder, their quick-thinking and bravery were critical in bringing the situation to a safe conclusion,” he said.

“Their actions prevented further escalation and safeguarded the lives of many in the community.”

He added: “These officers acted with professionalism and courage, exemplifying the very best of what it means to serve and protect.”

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.