He was dramatically filmed kicking a wheelie bin being dragged towards a fire by two youths – one of whom was wearing a balaclava – and using his other hand to stop another adult from throwing a wooden pallet onto the fire.

He called for calm the morning after the violence, saying: The independent: “The police were not there. I don’t want to criticize them, but they left the scene and tried to come back and take control – but they were pelted with stones and bottles and chased away.

Read the full interview here:

Nigel Farage faced a backlash this morning after posting on X about last night’s unrest.

Thousands of miles away in the US, where he was attending the RNC conference in support of Donald Trump, Mr Farage responded to the unrest that broke out in Harehills in Leeds.

He wrote: “The politics of the subcontinent are currently being played out on the streets of Leeds. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

However, these comments prompted a backlash from local Labour MPs, including Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds Central and Headingley.

Mr Sobel wrote: “This is a situation that you know nothing about and that no one has informed you about.

“You are making a situation worse with misinformation. Politicians have a responsibility not to make a situation worse, especially if they are not aware of it. I expect you to apologize.”

Mr Farage replied: “When are you and the Labour Party going to apologise for the irresponsible mass migration?”

Craig Nicholls, chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, has issued a statement regarding last night’s issues.

He described it as ‘completely unacceptable’ and praised the police officers who responded to the trouble in the Harehills area of ​​Leeds.

He said: “What should have been a standard task quickly turned into a night of chaos, highlighting the need for robust support and resources for those charged with maintaining public safety.

“Despite the circumstances, the resilience of our colleagues was nothing short of remarkable.

“Given the aggression and chaos, their quick thinking and courage were vital in bringing the situation to a safe conclusion.”

GroenLinks councillor Mothin Ali was also dramatically filmed kicking away a bin that was being dragged to a fire by two youths.

He also prevented another adult from throwing a wooden pallet onto the fire.

Councillor Ali said: “This is my community, these are my people, no matter how they behave. This behaviour is unacceptable, but we need people to step in and calm things down when they can. I am in a position of authority and I have to use it.

“I grabbed the trash can from those young guys, and I have to give them credit for respecting me and walking away. They didn’t try anything else.

“Later the crowd changed and became more aggressive. People were pushing and shoving me. I don’t even know if I was scared, I didn’t think about it. I just thought about my community.”

Following a meeting with representatives of the Roma community today, Leeds City Council has agreed to an “urgent investigation” into a “family matter”.

A riot broke out in the Harehills area of ​​Leeds on Thursday evening after social workers reported hostility during the handling of a child protection case.

The children were taken to a safe place while police officers came to provide support, but when authorities were confronted with further hostilities, they were forced to withdraw.

A statement from Leeds City Council released on Friday said: “Today, representatives of the Roma community met with Leeds City Council yesterday (18 July 2024) to raise concerns about a family matter.

“The Council has agreed to urgently review the case and work with Romanian and Roma-led organisations, the churches, the Honorary Consulate of Romania and other representatives of families to best represent the interests of the family and the wider Roma community.

“We are asking all communities to remain calm and ensure we do not see further disruptions like those we saw last night, which have caused fear and anxiety in communities across Harehills. Local people are devastated by what has happened and we want to ensure the distressing scenes we saw are not repeated. Such actions will have a long-lasting and damaging impact on our community.”

More than 15 hours after the start of the public order disturbance, questions are being asked about how it came about.

West Yorkshire Police said its officers were called to an incident at an address in the Harehills area at 5pm on Thursday, where they found an “ongoing disturbance” involving agency workers and children.

More and more people came to the location and the temporary workers and children were taken to a safe place.

Subsequently, a crowd began to gather and more officers were called to the area where “enclaves of disorder” were developing.

In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said: “Additional officers have been sent to the area to assist with the management of this incident.”

Police added that they will conduct a full investigation into “all criminal offences… including damage to vehicles by fire”.

Leeds City Councillor Salma Arif told Channel 4 News the mood in the Harehills ward now appears to be calmer following the violent unrest on Thursday night.

She said she had spoken to police and community leaders to ensure what happened would not happen again.

Disinformation on social media about the nature of the incident was “extremely unhelpful,” she said, adding that she had “picked up some of that rhetoric” while trying to defuse the situation.

She said: “What I can tell you is that it was an isolated incident. There was an incident that happened to a family with care services, and I obviously can’t go into detail about what happened with that incident.

“But that really hasn’t been helpful because it means the media has ended up in Harehills. And actually, I mean, you’re going tomorrow, but as a community we still have to come together to pick up those pieces.”

She said Harehills was “a deprived area but an incredibly diverse part of the city of Leeds”.

Following the outbreak of riots in the Harehills area of ​​Leeds last night, social media has been flooded with photos and videos from eyewitnesses.

Questions have also been raised about who is responsible, with the finger of blame being pointed at certain groups and individuals.

This morning, West Yorkshire Police, which is treating the matter as a “serious public order incident”, said it was aware of incorrect information being posted on social media.

A spokesman said: “We strongly advise residents against speculating about the cause of this disorder. We believe it was caused by a criminal minority who want to disrupt community relations.

“Officers are aware of incorrect information circulating on social media suggesting that individuals may be responsible.”

What do we know about Harehills?

The area is located in the east of Leeds and falls within the borough of Gipton and Harehills. It has a population of just over 30,000, spread over 11,000 homes.

In 2020 it was rated as one of the most deprived areas in Leeds.

Last year, the most reported crimes were violent and sexual offences, public order and vandalism, and arson.