The
Bradford Riots were a short but intense period of
rioting which began on
July 7,
2001, in
Bradford,
West Yorkshire,
England. It occurred as a result of heightened tension between the large and growing
ethnic minority communities and the city's white majority, stoked by confrontation between the
Anti-Nazi League and
far right groups such as the
National Front. Similar
race riots had occurred earlier in May in Oldham and in June in Burnley other parts of
northern England.
[Bagguley, P. and Hussain, Y. (2008) Riotous Citizens: ethnic conflict in multicultural Britain, Aldershot, Ashgate.]
The Upper Globe pub was damaged and has since lain derelict.
Background
Bradford is historically a
working class city. Since its rapid growth in the 19th century, there have been several significant waves of immigration, notably
Irish (19th century),
Poles (1940s-50s) and
South Asian people. At the time of the riot, Bradford had the second largest population of Asians of any
UK city, with approximately 68,000
Pakistanis, 12,500
Indians, 5,000
Bangladeshis and 3,000 other Asians. However, the majority of people in the city are white (Ethnicity: 78.3% White, and 18.9% S.Asian).
While the South Asian population in Bradford has grown, and there are areas which are mainly white and areas which are mainly South Asian, it is disputed whether segregation has grown over time, whether the phenomenon of
white flight applies to Bradford, and whether one can accurately talk of ghettos in Bradford . At the time of the riot,
Bradford Moor was 67% South Asian,
Toller was 64 percent South Asian. Of the 17,512 people of
Manningham 13,049 were South Asian.
Tong was 93 percent white, and
Wibsey was 91 percent white.
Flashpoint
On 22–24 June, there were riots in
Burnley; two months previously, there had been riots in
Oldham. Tensions rose after the
National Front attempted to organise a march in the city which was banned by Home Secretary David Blunkett under the Public Order Act 1986. The
Anti Nazi League organised a rally in Centenary Square in the centre of the city, which was allowed to proceed. During the course of the rally, a rumour was spread by some of the marchers that National Front sympathisers were gathering at a pub in the centre of Bradford. A confrontation then occurred outside the pub in the city centre during which a white man was stabbed. According to the appeal court, this incident almost certainly triggered the riot. However, subsequent research amongst eye-witnesses contests this view with no single event being identifiable as a flashpoint
Riots
The riot was estimated to have involved 1,000 youths. On the nights of 8 and 9 July groups of between thirty and a hundred white youths attacked police and Asian-owned businesses, in the Ravenscliffe and Holmewood areas.
Initially there were 500 police being involved, but later reinforcements increased this to almost 1,000. What began as a riot turned into a race-related disturbance, with targeting of businesses and cars, along with numerous attacks on shops and property. A notable point of the rioting was the firebombing of Manningham Labour Club, at the time a recreational centre. A 48-year-old Asian businessman was jailed for twelve years for the arson attack. The club reopened in the spring of 2006 on a different site, approximately one and a half miles away, on Bullroyd Lane, Four Lane Ends (The original site has now been redeveloped into a health and community centre and chemist).
Between 60 and 100 youths of Asian ethnicity smashed windows and threw
Molotov cocktails into the club until they were dispersed by riot police.. Also the car garage on the top of White Abbey Road was affected, as cars were stolen and then driven towards the police. The most expensive act of the riot was the arson attack of a
BMW dealership, which had previously been attacked in a
1995 disturbance.
Several riots followed a few days later.
Aftermath
More than 300 police officers were hurt during the riot. There were 297 arrests in total; 187 people were charged with the
offence of riot, 45 with violent disorder and 200 jail sentences totalling 604 years were handed down. The last rioter was sentenced six-and-a-half years after the events; the number of convictions for riot was unprecedented in English legal history the next highest amount was five for an investigation in London. The estimated damage was put at £7 million. The government subsequently commissioned the
Cantle report which made 67 recommendations. In 2006
Channel 4 produced a TV fictional drama based loosely on the riots from the perspective of an Asian family.
See also
Recent sectarian violence:Non-sectarian: 
