Disinformation was ‘central accelerant’ in Leicester Hindu-Muslim clashes, inquiry finds

Violence between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester in 2022 was fuelled by online disinformation and met with a failure of leadership from the city’s mayor, council and police, an independent inquiry has said.Researchers from the School of Oriental and African Studies and the London School of Economics carried out the study after the unrest between predominantly young Hindu and Muslim men in Leicester between May and September 2022.The disorder in the East Midlands city, long regarded as a model of community cohesion, involved vandalism, attacks and assaults on homes and businesses. More than 50 people have been charged with offences linked to the violence, according to police.The inquiry, chaired by the human rights expert and former UN special rapporteur Juan Méndez, conducted in-depth interviews with about 80 people and consulted many others, including witnesses and individuals involved in the unrest.The 200-page report, Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester, published on Monday, found “no evidence of leadership” from Leicester city council and its Labour mayor, Peter Soulsby, in managing tensions or providing adequate support to residents. It said repeated attempts to contact and involve the mayor were declined.According to the report, Leicestershire Police “suffered from intelligence gaps, poor communication, inconsistent operational decisions and a lack of understanding of communal dynamics in south Asian communities”. However, it added that “several police actions [that] prevented far greater violence”.The inquiry noted thatno significant intercommunal meetings had taken place since 2022, contributing to “continued mistrust” and allowing “polarising narratives to fill the vacuum”.Elsewhere, the report found: No single group was solely responsible, with members of Hindu and Muslim communities described as “both victims and perpetrators”. Online disinformation was a “central accelerant of the crisis”, fuelling distrust. Community coexistence in Leicester is “increasingly fragmenting” amid new migration patterns, economic decline and the importation of political ideologies such as communalism, Hindutva and political Islamism. Communalism within south Asian communities in the UK “needs to be urgently recognised and addressed”. The response from local authorities, including the city council, mayor and police was “lacking or inconsistent” with “major gaps” in intelligence and communication. The inquiry found the clashes in August and September 2022, including confrontations between India and Pakistan cricket supporters on 15 August, were preceded by months of rising tensions. In May, a “violent attack … by a group of Hindu youths on a young Muslim man” marked an early flashpoint.Green Lane Road, where police and community leaders called for calm after scuffles between large crowds in 2022. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianFurther incidents followed, including an egg attack on a Hindu household in early September and a large march on 17 September by Hindu youths “from a ‘Hindu area’ (Belgrave) to a ‘Muslim area’ (Green Lane Road)”. The clashes attracted global attention.Chetan Bhatt, a sociology professor at the LSE who contributed to the research, said he had never previously witnessed such levels of polarisation between Hindus and Muslims in the UK. “You have never had hundreds of Hindus or hundreds of Muslims mobilising to attack each other,” he added.The report concluded that “both Hindu nationalist and political Islamist actors actively sought to inflame division for political ends”, although their influence was uneven, with Hindu nationalist groups possessing “greater resources”.Bhatt warned that communalism – intense loyalty to a religious or ethnic group, which often leads to sectarian conflict – remained a risk to community relations in the UK. “[If] you had some serious incident happening in India or between India and Pakistan,” he said. “That has the potential, because of the divisions that exist [and] the memories of what happened and the distrust … to become a street-level issue.”After the unrest in 2022, the then communities secretary, Michael Gove, commissioned a separate investigation chaired by Ian Austin. The government said it was reviewing that panel’s findings and recommendations.The government and academic investigations have faced criticism from groups questioning their independence.The former Imperial Typewriters building in the Spinney Hills area, which was the scene of some of the unrest. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianAmong the report’s recommendations are the creation of a permanent community unity forum and training for police officers on understanding communalism and sectarian dynamics.In response, Leicestershire Police said officers had faced an “exceptionally complex set of challenges” and the force continued to work closely with communities, including by inviting religious and community leaders to join joint patrols and to observe investigative processes. The force said officers also received briefings on cultural sensitivities and use communication channels to counter misinformation.Ch Supt Shane O’Neill said: “Throughout the incident and in the period since, we have worked closely with our communities and partner agencies to identify and address the root causes of the unrest, and we have continued our engagement efforts to support recovery and learning.”Soulsby said he had not received a copy of the report in advance of its publication but would “look carefully at what they have to say”.“When they began their research, nearly three years ago, I did raise some questions with them about their independence, who had commissioned them, and how they were going to take evidence,” he said. “I didn’t get a convincing explanation. I don’t know who they have spoken to.”Leicester city council has been contacted for comment.