Mass riot erupts in Leeds, police vehicles damaged

VIOLENCE erupted in Leeds on Thursday evening after social services took away four children from a family in Harehills, according to media reports.

Hundreds of residents clashed with the police and damaged police vehicles. They also torched a double-decker bus.

West Yorkshire Police said they had safely taken away the children and agency workers before the violence escalated throughout the evening.

The police said around 5 pm they got a call about some disturbance at an address in Luxor Street, Harehills.

The offices found that it involved some agency workers and children. They moved the agency workers and the children to a safe place, before the situation could get out of hand.

Soon a crowd began to gather and police reinforcements were called in to deal with the unrest.

The police said no injuries have been reported and inquiries were going on and those involved in the rioting will be brought to book.

They claimed that the rioting was "instigated by a criminal minority intent on disrupting community relations".

Many rioters live-streamed the chaotic scenes on TikTok and Facebook Live.

The footage shared on social media showed the crowd smashing a police car’s windows and later flipping the vehicle onto its side.

The mob also emptied garbage bins on the road and set the contents on fire.

First Bus confirmed one of its vehicles was set on fire with another caught up in the unrest, but the drivers and passengers escaped unhurt.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who represents a West Yorkshire constituency, said in a post on X: "I am appalled at the shocking scenes and attacks on police vehicles & public transport in Leeds."

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin urged people using the disorder in Leeds to “inflame community tensions” to “think again”.

Gipton and Harehills councillor Salma Arif warned residents to stay at home on Thursday night in a video posted on social media.

Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage kicked up a row after he claimed the riots in Leeds represented the 'politics of the subcontinent' and were the result of unchecked immigration.

Alex Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, condemned Farage for trying to instigate violence and demanded an apology.