Warning of public disorder on scale of 2011 riots

PUBLIC disorder on a scale not seen since the 2011 London riots could sweep the country this summer amid racial tensions and rising unemployment, a scientific adviser to the Government has warned.

Prof Clifford Stott, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said mass job losses due to coronavirus, as well as concerns about racial and economic inequality, may all be factors that could fuel “confrontations” in the coming months.

A possible divide between poorer and more affluent areas brought on by local lockdowns – if brought into force – could also have an effect, warned the professor of social psychology at Keele University, who has advised the Home Office on public order strategy.

He said: “If the police don’t invest in building positive police-community relations now, there is a potential for serious and large public disorder to emerge this summer. I think in the worst-case scenario it’s not inconceivable that we could have disorder on a scale equivalent to August 2011.

“What we need to do is to make sure we start addressing the underlying causes now, so that the conditions that led to the 2011 riots are not in place should we get a precipitating incident.

“Put simply, the most effective thing that the police can do is put bobbies on the beat.”

Localised lockdowns could become “very, very problematic” for police officers if the rules mean people living in poorer areas are more likely to face tougher restrictions than those in affluent neighbourhoods, he said.

Enforcement generally has become “pretty impossible now to a large extent” as lockdown measures are eased, apart from for large-scale public gatherings, the professor said.

The danger, he warned, is some of the gatherings are “probably very likely” to be groups of young men on estates which could then attract more police attention, adding: “I think that could create a circumstance when lots of young men feel it’s unfair about what’s happening to them.

“And where the police try to enforce that unfairness, it could create a breakdown in social cohesion, lead to a sense of unfairness in policing. Those factors often drive social conflict.”