'Scars of disorder will take decades to heal'

Anti-migration protests spread across England in August

A youth campaigner has said the scars left by recent disorder across the UK could take "decades to heal".

Piers Telemacque, who works for the Race Equality Network in Bradford, has called on those in power to take responsibility for how political rhetoric can play a part in creating tensions between communities.

His comments came as a report by think tank British Future urged Sir Keir Starmer to use the Labour Party conference to set out how the government will respond to last month's rioting and rebuild community cohesion.

The government said it was "heartened" to see how communities came together, adding it had launched a £15m recovery fund.

Mr Telemacque said: "People are not going to forget what happened in August.

"The government needs to step up now to build up communities to foster relationships.

"But ultimately we need those issues that were the route of this - a lack of educational opportunities, lack of employment, a broken economy - we need these fixing.

"People are struggling whether you are black or white".

Mr Telemacque said the disorder had affected people's daily lives with many black and Asian people, especially the elderly, reluctant to leave the safety of their homes.

Piers Telemacque said August's disorder had left some people anxious and frightened to leave their homes

More than 1,000 people have been arrested so far over the widespread disorder across the country last month, including in parts of Yorkshire.

Around 480 have been charged and more than 100 sentences already handed down as cases continue to be brought to court.

Leeds-based Imam Qari Asim, chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, agreed with Mr Telemacque that the disorder had a huge impact.

“People in my community were terrified by the violence and hatred seen on our streets this summer," he said.

He said the response by the police and the courts was welcome, but society "can't be complacent and hope it doesn’t happen again".

He said it should be a "wake-up call" to government.

“There are many of us working on the ground to build connection and trust between communities," he said.

"But we need more support, coordination and resources from national and local government.”

The disorder prompted a number of counter demonstrations across the UK

Mr Telemacque said politicians and the media needed to consider the impact of the rhetoric they used.

"It is stoking up these fears of a lack of educational opportunities, lack of economic opportunities, this sense that 'they are taking things away from us'," he said.

"When you've got mainstream politicians echoing that and saying that in Parliament, on the news, in the streets then people are going to believe it."

"But that's not because of immigrants," he said but the results of a decade of cuts due to austerity and a lack of investment under the previous Conservative government.

The Conservative Party have been asked for a response.

In its report, called After The Riots, British Future sets out a 12-point plan of policy proposals to address what it calls a “vacuum on communities policy”.

The Rt Revd Dr Toby Howarth, Bishop of Bradford, who was part of the report, said it was an "astute analysis" and made a "compelling case" for government action.

He said: "There is much good, creative and tested practice that can be drawn on, but the trauma inflicted on individuals and communities and the risk of further unrest makes the development of such a strategy an urgent priority."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We were heartened to see how communities came together in Yorkshire following the unacceptable unrest.

"To ensure Yorkshire and other affected areas can rebuild and put their communities back together, the government has launched a £15m Community Recovery Fund.

“Work is also under way through the cross-government Community and Recovery Steering Group, chaired by the deputy prime minister, which is focused on unearthing the factors that drove unrest and preventing them from reoccurring.”

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