Factbox - Recent riots in Britain
Related News
- British PM Cameron vows crackdown on rioters
10:15am EDT- UK streets calmer after nights of riots and chaos
Wed, Aug 10 2011- British cities hit by looting, London quiet
Wed, Aug 10 2011- Violence erupts outside London but capital quiet
Tue, Aug 9 2011- UPDATE 4-Police to swamp London streets to tackle unrest
Tue, Aug 9 2011Analysis & Opinion
Related Topics
Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:04am EDT
(Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron promised Thursday to crack down on street gangs, saying "the fightback has well and truly begun" against those who rioted across Britain.
Several major cities around England have suffered days of violence and looting in some of the worst rioting seen in years.
Here are some details of major rioting in Britain over the past 30 years:
* April 1980 - Bristol
-- The Black and White Caf, which had a reputation as a center for drugs, was raided by police, triggering riots in the St Paul's area of Bristol. Tension between black youths and the police had been growing in the area, with many black youths feeling discriminated against. The cafe was demolished in 2005.
* April 1981 - Brixton, south London
-- Tension between the police and the black community had been high for some time. The stabbing and subsequent death of a black man was blamed on police brutality and sparked a riot. Damages were estimated at up to 7.5 million pounds ($12 million) and 365 police and civilians were wounded.
-- Brixton saw more rioting in 1985, when a black woman was accidentally shot during a police raid, in 1995 when a young black man died in police custody, and most recently in 2001, after a man was shot by police who mistakenly believed he was carrying a gun.
* July 1981 - Toxteth, Liverpool
-- Rioting was triggered by the arrest of 20-year-old Leroy Alphonse Cooper whose supporters said he was subsequently mistreated in custody. Nine days of violence followed.
* October 1985 - Broadwater Farm, Tottenham, London
-- Violence between youths from the Broadwater estate in Tottenham and the police erupted when a woman suffered heart failure after a police raid on her home. Shots were fired wounding several people and PC Keith Blakelock was killed when he was stabbed by rioters while protecting a firefighter putting out a blaze.
* March 1990 - Poll tax riots, London
-- When Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government introduced the poll tax -- a levy on property imposed regardless of wealth -- 100,000 people turned out for a protest in central London which quickly turned violent.
* 1999 - Anti-capitalist protest, London
-- Demonstrators clashed with riot police, burned cars and stormed a major financial exchange during an anti-capitalist protest in June that caused 2 million pounds of damage.
* May-July 2001 - London May Day riot and violence in northern England
-- Some 5,000 anti-capitalist activists brought the commercial heart of London to a standstill with violence and vandalism. Police said they had arrested 92 people after good-natured demonstrations turned ugly. Shops in Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road were smashed as small breakaway groups of demonstrators ran amok and a hardcore of protesters clashed with riot police.
-- Riots in Oldham and Burnley were the result of tensions between the white majority and growing ethnic minority communities. Fighting broke out between far-right groups including the National Front and Asian businessmen, as well as the Anti Nazi League. Over 300 people were wounded and more than 350 arrested.
* April 2009 - Anti G20 protests, London
-- Violent confrontations between anti-capitalist demonstrators, environmental campaigners and riot police broke out in London during two days of protests in April as the leaders of the G20 nations attended an economic summit.
* November 2010 - Student riots, London
-- The newly elected Conservative-Liberal coalition government unveiled a series of higher education spending cuts and an increase in the cap on tuition fees. A planned peaceful demonstration saw students from across Britain descending on London. The protest turned violent when a small group attacked Conservative Party headquarters, smashing the windows, damaging the interior and throwing a fire-extinguisher off the roof.
* March 2011 - TUC march, London
-- Masked youths battled riot police and attacked banks and luxury stores in central London on March 26, overshadowing a protest by more than a quarter of a million Britons against government spending cuts. More than 200 people were arrested after anarchist groups splintered from the main union-led protest march and fought running battles with police.
* August 2011 - London, Manchester and other major cities
-- Rioting broke out around major cities in England including Manchester and Liverpool in the northwest and Birmingham in central England. Gangs ransacked stores causing millions of pounds of damage. Four people were killed in the violence. At least 1,300 people were arrested of whom 900 were in London.
-- The riots broke out on August 6 in north London's Tottenham district, when a protest over the police shooting of a suspect two days earlier led to violence.
- Tweet this
- Link this
- Share this
- Digg this
- Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/Comments (0)Be the first to comment on reuters.com.Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)This has NOT been served from cache Request served from apache server: S264630NJ2XSF02 token: 803e64ed-c199-46c2-b623-df87f203d532Join the real-time conversation.Comment using one of the social networks listed below.
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Factbox - Recent riots in Britain | Reuters
via reuters.com
Flickr - projectbrainsaver
www.flickr.com
|
