Claudia Webbe, whose Leicester East constituency was at the center of several incidents last month, said ministers needed to tackle “extreme right-wing ideology” and misinformation spread through social media. There was a tense standoff between groups of Muslim and Hindu men and the police on Saturday afternoon, along with sporadic incidents of violence. A demonstration on Sunday resulted in the arrest of 18 people, eight of whom came from outside Leicestershire, the Guardian revealed. Webbe said: “The reality is that we have fringe elements led and inspired by extremism and right-wing ideology rearing their head in the UK and in the peaceful city of Leicester. “If we don’t understand the root cause, this will spread beyond Leicester to other areas. The government needs to step in and make sure social media platforms stop this from getting much, much worse.” On Tuesday, Hindu and Muslim leaders in the city issued a joint statement calling for unity and calm. It said: “Our two religions have lived harmoniously in this wonderful city for more than half a century. We came to this city together, faced the same challenges together, fought against racist haters together, and collectively made this city a beacon of diversity and community cohesion.” The atmosphere in Leicester was exacerbated by videos released online at the weekend showing a man taking down a flag outside a Hindu temple and another video of a flag being burnt. The Indian High Commission released a statement on Twitter strongly condemning “the violence perpetrated against the Indian community in Leicester and the vandalism of Hindu religious sites and symbols”. Webbe wrote to Leicestershire’s interim chief constable earlier this month and again before the recent weekend trouble, urging vigilance and passing on reports of “hateful incitement targeting those of the Muslim and Hindu faith”. In a letter, Webbe said some constituents had expressed fears to her that the violence was partly due to “the underlying Islamophobia in parts of Leicester’s communities, rather than an isolated incident”. Days later, on September 14, Webbe wrote to the chief constable alleging incidents of “continued disturbances” and “incitement to hatred” on September 5 and September 9, after which two arrests were made. She said constituents told her that communal tensions may be longer-standing and not just related to the India-Pakistan cricket match held on August 28 as part of the Asia Cup tournament in the UAE. Writing ahead of the weekend’s latest incidents, Webbe told police that “the incitement of hatred targeting people of Muslim and Hindu faith, through hastily organized protests”. One such call was for a protest against “Muslim hate crime” on September 11 at 9 p.m. on Belgrave Street, in the heart of the predominantly Hindu area of the constituency. Webbe told police: “I have no doubt that this fake event was designed to cause additional conflict and cause disharmony and mistrust.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He said he saw evidence this weekend that gangs had entered Leicester prepared for violence. “I walked into the constituency and saw blue surgical gloves [worn to avoid leaving fingerprints] and dozens of black balaclavas dumped in the back streets. The weapons have been recovered by the police. It leaves people afraid to leave their homes,” he said. Webbe, who was elected as a Labor MP but is an independent after being found guilty of harassment, called on police to coordinate a national response and for social media companies to step in. “Much of this violence and hatred is shared on social media and through online communications. It’s racism and fascism rearing its ugly head. It is a national problem that requires a national response from the police and other agencies. “The social media companies – TikTok and Twitter and WhatsApp – are the media used and they should bear some responsibility,” he said. Sharmeen Rahman, a Labor councilor in Leicester, also said she had a “real fear” the issue could spread nationally. “I feel like it could lead to a more national issue, where other communities in other cities start to react to it,” Rahman said. “There is a sense of calm at the moment, but we had a sense of calm before things flared up again. I’m not sure it’s gone and I think there are issues that need to be addressed, very urgently.” Rahman said the lack of political leadership on the issue was “a catastrophic failure for the city.” “We have not been caught off guard, this has increased over the last few years, but it has not been addressed, and that is an issue,” he said. “If there had been a more active attitude from the city leadership, this could have been stopped in the first place. But there wasn’t, there was a complete calm and absence, until it all got completely out of control this weekend.”
