Father bereaved in 2011 riots appeals for calm

Tariq Jahan's message for young people was: “Don't take this responsibility on yourselves. Let the police deal with it"

A man whose son was killed during the 2011 riots has appealed for calm, as police prepare for more potential unrest across the country.

Tariq Jahan’s 20-year-old son Haroon was killed while protecting property during riots in Birmingham almost exactly 13 years ago.

“Don't take this responsibility on yourselves. Let the police deal with it,” Mr Jahan said of young people wanting to counter anti-immigration protests.

There have been riots and protests in parts of England and Northern Ireland over the past week, with reports of dozens of potential gatherings planned for Wednesday.

The disorder began after the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport, with riots fuelled in part by misinformation online that the suspect was an asylum seeker.

Mr Jahan also urged the older generation to keep their children “off the streets”, because “you do not want a policeman knocking on your door to tell you that your child has lost his life in these riots.”

Mr Jahan, pictured visiting his son's grave, said the current unrest had brought back painful memories

Mr Jahan made a moving appeal for calm the day after his son’s death during the 2011 riots, which started in London after police shot a man dead, with unrest then spreading to cities including Birmingham.

The grieving father’s speech was credited with helping to bring Birmingham back from the brink.

Mr Jahan said the current disorder and violence around the country had brought back painful memories of that time – especially with the anniversary of his son’s death approaching on 10 August.

“The anniversary is coming up and it’s a horrible reminder of what we went through, for things to be going in this direction,” he said.

Haroon Jahan and two brothers, Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir, died after being hit by a car on Dudley Road in Winson Green, while trying to protect properties from looters.

In 2012, eight men were found not guilty of the murders of the three friends.

The trial also heard that witnesses were offered immunity from prosecution in return for statements, and a police watchdog investigation later found that a senior detective had acted recklessly and without authorisation.

Haroon Jahan and two brothers, Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir, died after being hit by a car during the 2011 riots

Mr Jahan said he hoped the current unrest would subside in the coming days, and that Birmingham would rise above division.

Birmingham has not seen unrest on the same scale as places such as Southport and Belfast so far, although there were disturbances in the Bordesley Green area on Monday after a rumoured far-right march did not materialise.

Mr Jahan, who still lives in Winson Green, said he was proud of his diverse city, where people from “all walks of life and backgrounds” showed “compassion” towards each other.

“What we don't need to do is be swept up in this emotional rioting situation, we don’t want people to do anything silly in Birmingham and give ourselves a bad name," he said.

"We’re a good community, we stick together.”