1 / 7Rioters burnt buses and police vehicles on the streets of Leeds, a city in the northern English county of Yorkshire. The nerve centre of the Leeds riots is reportedly the Harehills area and it’s a “serious public order incident”, the West Yorkshire Police said in an official media release. (Image: Reuters)
2 / 7The riots started as a protest after the social services removed four children from a family. One of the children was taken to the hospital to be treated for an injury a few days ago. The injury was caused by one of the siblings. Local media reports say that the hospital authorities reported the case to the social services and the children were taken away from the family, leading to the protests. (Image: Reuters)
3 / 7A police vehicle lies on its side during unrest in Harehills, Leeds, Britain, July 18, 2024, in this picture obtained from social media. (@robin_singh via Instagram/via REUTERS)
4 / 7The first complaint was filed around 5 pm, according to Sky News. Images on social media showed gatherings of hundreds of people on the streets and fire being lit in the middle of a street. However, no injuries have been reported so far. (Image: Reuters)
5 / 7Nigel Farage, the leader of the far-right Reform Party and the member of Parliament from Clacton, was one of many on social media taking the opportunity to blame immigration for the unrest. However, his inflammatory tweet got a pushback from the local Leeds MP, Alex Sobel. “This is a situation you know nothing about and no one has briefed you on. You are inflaming a situation with misinformation. Politicians have a responsibility to not exacerbate situations, particularly with no knowledge of them,” Sobel in response to a post from Farage on X, the microblogging platform formerly called Twitter. Image: Reuters. I expect you to issue an apology. The politics of the subcontinent are currently playing out on the streets of Leeds. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
6 / 7A man kicks a bus during unrest in Harehills, Leeds, Britain, July 18, 2024, in this still image obtained from a social media video. (@robin_singh via Instagram/via REUTERS)
7 / 7A burnt-out car in the Leeds suburb of Harehills, Friday, July 19, 2024, following an outbreak of disorder on Thursday evening. Officials in the northern English city of Leeds say order has been restored after a night of unrest that began when police and local government workers intervened in a “family incident” and residents poured into the streets in protest. (Katie Dickinson/PA via AP)
