• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Riots could break out in UK this summer, adviser to Government warns

Professor Clifford Stott is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies sub-committee on behaviour.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2020-06-10 10:55
in News
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Riots could break out across the UK this summer as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic take hold, a scientific adviser to the Government has warned.

Professor Clifford Stott said there is a risk of disorder on a scale last seen during the London riots in August 2011 – sparked by the police shooting of Mark Duggan – if urgent efforts are not made by forces to quell any potential unrest in the neighbourhoods they serve.

The member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) sub-committee on behaviour said mass job losses and rising unemployment due to coronavirus, as well as concerns about racial and economic inequality, may all be factors which 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, the professor of social psychology at Keele University, who has advised the Home Office on public order strategy, warned.

Disturbances across the UK
A police officer in Tottenham, north London, during riots in August 2011 (Lewis Whyld/PA)

Speaking in a personal capacity during an interview with the PA news agency, 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.

2011 riots

“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.

RelatedPosts

‘Appalling and upsetting:’ Fury at treatment of security and cleaning staff during partygate events

Watch: ‘I’m being heckled by my own people’ says Tory MP as he slams PM and demands he resigns

Mamma mia! Sue Gray halted probe into ‘Abba’ event with ‘alcohol’ in Downing Street flat

Govt’s ethics chief took karaoke machine to lockdown party as SNP slam ‘drinking and debauchery’

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

Circumstances in the UK will change “quite considerably” in the coming months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Prof Stott said, adding: “There are important issues about inequality that could, if not dealt with properly, feed into a situation in the future over the summer months where confrontations develop.”

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 working class 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.

Unfairness

“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.

“We know that those factors are often drivers for social conflict.”

Growing concerns about the “disproportionate” use of Tasers against black people and those with mental health problems raised by the police watchdog last month as it investigated a series of incidents could also run the risk of becoming a trigger for unrest, Prof Stott said.

Professor Clifford Stott
Professor Clifford Stott said riots could break out across the UK this summer as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic take hold (Keele University/PA)

A rise in Covid-19 transmission rates forcing the country back into lockdown again when people are “significantly economically disadvantaged” could also “increase dissent about the conditions of people’s lives”, he added.

Cummings

Asked whether the allegations over the Prime Minister’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings breaching lockdown could contribute to unrest, Prof Stott said: “We are at a really, really pivotal time and the loss of trust and confidence that has been brought about by the Cummings affair has not assisted in maintaining that adherence, I think that’s quite clear.”

Essex Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on public order and safety, said: “Police work within communities to tackle crime and solve problems – informed by conversations and active engagement.

“Where there are tensions, we work with communities to address concerns and respond sensitively. This will continue as restrictions continue to ease over the course of the summer.

“We are also well prepared to respond to any rises in crime or disorder.”

Related – Watch – Black Lives Matter activists told to ‘go back to Africa’

Please login to join discussion

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

The Weekly Cocktail Recipe – Joyeux Bordel’s ‘Jolly Mess’

A Girl at My Door : Film Review

1,300 jobs at 22 stores at risk as one of Britain’s oldest department store chains collapses in administration

Mail columnist’s misguided tweet on homeowners’ rising fuel bills gets lampooned

EU nationals fear private health insurance requirements could see UK citizenship bids rejected

‘Lifeline’ as fifth of UC claimants ‘very likely to need food banks if uplift is scrapped’

VIDEO – Donald Trump Speech…In a Cockney Accent

Dorries calls PM’s critics ‘a handful of egos’ but gets left with egg on her face

Hg invests in MeinAuto.de

David Miliband exclusive: ‘We must not buy into the false narrative of a migrant invasion’

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.