Council to undertake “urgent” review of child protection case that triggered Leeds disorder
Leeds City Council has agreed to undertake an “urgent” review of a child protection case that led to unrest in Harehills, Leeds, after children from a Roma family were taken into care.
According to The Guardian, a fire was started and an arson attack was carried out on a double-decker bus that had been abandoned by the driver and passengers.
The unrest, which also included people throwing bricks and bottles, was over by 1am on Friday (19 July) when local people gathered water from their homes to put out the fires.
In a joint statement on behalf of Leeds City Council and the Romanian and Roma community published following the disturbance, the council said it would work with Romanian and Roma led organisations, the churches, and the Honorary Consulate of Romania and other family representatives “for the best interests of the family and wider Roma community”.
The council urged all communities to “remain calm” and to keep themselves and their children safe.
It said: “Local people are devastated by what happened, and we want to ensure there is no repeat of the distressing scenes we saw. Such actions will have a long lasting and harmful impact on our community.
“The Romanian and Roma community have played a fantastic role in the community and have contributed much to the diversity and richness of the Harehills. We want this work to continue, and develop further work that makes Harehills an even better place to work and live. The events of last night will not help our community or the family. We need to work together with the authorities to ensure that best outcomes for the community, and to ensure our voices are heard at the highest level so we can avoid such scenarios in the future.”
According to a report by The British Journal of Social Work, ‘Gypsy/Roma’ children are more likely to be referred to children’s services than children from all other ethnic groups.
In 2017–2018, Gypsy/Roma children were 1.81 times more likely to be referred to Child Welfare Services (CWS) and 2.11 times more likely to live in state care compared to children from any other ethnic group.
Lottie Winson
