Leicester disorder: Women call for unity over city unrest

Women from Asian communities in Leicester have come together to call for unity and said recent unrest had "torn apart our community".

It follows large-scale disorder last weekend amid tensions involving mainly young men from sections of the Muslim and Hindu communities.

A total of 47 people have been arrested in relation to the disorder, with eight people charged, police said.

Women from different faiths said they wanted to bring communities together.

On 17 September major disorder broke out in the east of the city following an earlier protest.

Video footage showed objects, including bottles, being thrown.

Leicestershire's temporary Chief Constable Rob Nixon said officers were confronted at the time by more than 300 people.

Labour city councillor Rita Patel said she witnessed the disorder from a local restaurant.

"What I saw was young men running amok and you couldn't tell who they were because some had masks, some had facial coverings," she said.

"The families that were having dinner in that restaurant were really frightened.

"The owners of the restaurant were so frightened that they locked the doors, switched out the lights and pulled the blinds on the windows."

Ms Patel is now part of a group of women calling for peace, unity and action.

In a statement it said: "We, as Asian women from Leicester, call upon the people of this city to rally together."

It said neighbourhoods and families were "living in fear" as a result of recent behaviours.

Ms Patel said the group was made up of women from a mixture of backgrounds and faiths.

"We have more in common as communities than that which divides us - women represent that, women profile that - that is why we need to be working together," she said.

Yasmin Surti has joined the other women, saying she believed they were the solution to many problems.

"Very often we bring a rational and a calm voice to what is happening and as mothers, sisters, grandmothers, we have that influence over young people," she said.

Ms Surti said they would look to find a way of moving forward.

"This is not about dragging over what has happened - everybody has been really hurt and affected by all that.

"This is about how to we move together as women, as communities, that are going to strengthen us and strengthen Leicester."

Police said a total of 47 people had been arrested over the past month with the youngest being 15 and the oldest 69.

Eight of them have been charged so far, with two of them already sentenced in court.

Most of the arrested people are from Leicester and Birmingham, with two men also being from London and one from Market Harborough, Leicestershire.

Mr Nixon said police, community leaders, faith leaders and the local authority were working together "to address what is at the root of this unrest".

Police were criticised for not arresting people at the scene of last weekend's disorder, but Mr Nixon has previously said doing so would have taken officers off the streets.

He said a 50-strong investigation team was reviewing CCTV, body-worn video footage from officers, and other images and footage passed on to police.

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