'Sense of fear' following riots misinformation

Humma Nizami said people had been "fearful" following misinformation spread online

Members of a group representing ethnic minority people in Bradford expressed a "general sense of fear" at a meeting following days of violent disorder, according to its director.

Humma Nizami, executive director at the Race Equality Network in Bradford, said concerns were raised about how to protect people if they were targeted in far-right attacks.

It follows the targeting of mosques in Liverpool, Sunderland and Middlesbrough during days of violent disorder after the fatal stabbing of three children in Southport last week.

Community centres in Bradford had cancelled activities following misinformation online about the presence of the far-right in the city, the meeting was told.

People in Rotherham targeted a hotel used to house asylum seekers

The Race Equality Network held a meeting on Tuesday to give its members a chance to air their concerns.

Ms Nizami said she wanted to work with Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police to react to any disorder if it occurred.

"There was a general sense of fear," she said following the meeting, adding that community centres had cancelled activities out of fear of disorder.

"Our advice was to keep things going," she said. "Business as usual."

Ms Nizami added that she wanted to work with the police on how people in Bradford "can prevent misinformation from circulating".

She said false rumours on social media platforms "spread like wildfire".

'Devastating effect'

Meanwhile, Rashad Bokhari, chief executive of the Council for Mosques in Bradford, said misinformation "has been having a devastating effect on our communities".

However, he added: "There's nothing that can damage the far-right cause more than people just carrying on with their normal lives."

Mr Bokhari praised West Yorkshire Police officers who he said were "working tirelessly to ensure communities are feeling safe."

"I pray that things don't escalate any further," he added.

Across the weekend and this week, groups rioted in towns and cities across the UK - including Rotherham, Hull and Darlington.

The wave of unrest was sparked by the deaths of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July in Southport, Merseyside.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Banks in Lancashire, has been charged with three counts of murder, 10 attempted murders and possession of a curved kitchen knife.

Misinformation had subsequently spread online that the perpetrator of the attack was a Muslim asylum seeker, but the arrested teenager was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff and had moved to the Southport area in 2013.

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