UK: Far right blames Muslims and 'third world' migrants for Leeds unrest
On Thursday evening, unrest broke out in the district of Harehill in the northern UK city of Leeds, following what the city council called a “family incident”.
A police car was overturned and a double-decker bus was set on fire. Bonfires were lit across the city as hundreds took to the streets and disorder continued through the night.
Local police first responded to the unrest at around 5pm on Thursday evening. But it is understood they were instructed to withdraw and were later largely absent from the area until around 1am.
One prominent person on the ground trying to stop the disorder and restore calm was Mothin Ali, a local Green Party councillor elected in early May on a pro-Palestinian platform.
The moment Cllr @MothinAli tackles a speeding wheelie bin and drags it away from a burning bus. pic.twitter.com/1MY8jCM3Pe
— Craig Gent (@VivaHarehills) July 19, 2024
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The 42-year-old Ali was seen tackling a wheelie bin mid-flight as it hurtled towards a burning bus. He dragged other bins from the flames and confronted rioters, yelling “there are children in there” in reference to a nearby house.
Later on, he was seen helping with clean-up efforts in the area.
Earlier in the evening, footage showed Ali and another councillor, Salma Arif, trying to mediate between police officers, agency workers and a local family.
But even as Ali worked to combat the disorder, major far-right commentators online were blaming Muslims and "third world" migrants for the events and accusing Ali himself of participating in and stoking the unrest.
Hundreds of Muslims riot in Harehills, Leeds smashing police vehicles and attacking officers.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 18, 2024
Meanwhile, this is the towns newly elected local councilor.
Is anyone surprised? pic.twitter.com/G3q6XE3wJH
Far-right anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson posted on social media platform X: “Let me introduce to the newly elected councillor for the area rioting tonight in Leeds.
“Multiple reports he's even on the streets with them.”
Paul Golding, co-leader of the far-right group Britain First, posted a photo of Ali in the crowd. “They will never integrate or assimilate,” he commented. His post has received at least 16,000 likes.
This is not the first time Ali has faced online smears.
The Green Party councillor came under fire in sections of the national press for saying after he was elected in May: "We will not be silent, we will raise the voice of Gaza, we will raise the voice of Palestine, Allahu akbar!"
Ali says he received death threats after the news coverage.
“The same press that vilified our Muslim Green Cllr @MothinAli is now celebrating his bravery in stopping rioters,” posted a Green Party-affiliated group called Muslim Greens.
“We've known he's a hero from day one!”
Meanwhile, the party’s deputy leader Zack Polanski said: “Mothin Ali represents the very best of us.”
On Friday morning, Leeds City Council’s chief executive Tom Riordan said the disorder began with a “family incident”, and that the actions of police officers and social service workers had been “misinterpreted”.
But on Thursday evening, multiple British politicians put the blame on immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and multiculturalism.
Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage, the newly elected MP for Clacton, was slammed for claiming on social media that the “politics of the subcontinent are currently playing out on the streets of Leeds”. He added, in the post which received over 48,000 likes, “Don't say I didn't warn you.”
Farage made these comments from Milwaukee in the US where he is attending the Republican National Convention.
He was strongly criticised by Leeds' Labour MP Alex Sobel, who accused the politician of “inflaming a situation with misinformation”.
“This is a situation you know nothing about and no one has briefed you on,” Sobel added.
“I expect you to issue an apology.”
Another MP for Reform UK, Lee Anderson, said of the Leeds unrest: “Import a third world culture then you get third world behaviour. These animals need locking up for good.”
The party’s deputy leader, meanwhile, proclaimed that multiculturalism “has more than failed”.
'Elected officials and MPs like Nigel Farage must be held to account for spreading such fake news'
- Muslim Council of Britain
But West Yorkshire Police, responsible for law enforcement in Leeds, hit out at what it called “incorrect information on social media”.
“Police can also confirm that no-one has so far been reported to have been hurt in the disorder and police are treating the matter as a serious public order incident.”
The Muslim Council of Britain's secretary general, Zara Mohammed, told Middle East Eye: "Violence and destruction such as this is wrong. We commend Councillor Mothin Ali for his bravery and service.
"It is appalling to see the abuse he has received, driven by those spreading Islamophobic sentiment. Using serious issues of public disorder for political point-scoring and furthering anti-immigration and Islamophobic rhetoric is dangerous and unacceptable."
The MCB said in a statement online: "Elected officials and MPs like Nigel Farage must be held to account for spreading such fake news."
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