The Scotsman
Mon 24 Oct 2005

The aftermath: Shells of two burned-out cars speak volumes about the intensity of violent clashes that broke out in the Lozells district of Birmingham on Saturday.
Picture: Dale Martin/ PA
Rape that never was sparks a riot

EBEN HARRELL

Key points
One man dies as 50 riot in Birmingham over alleged rape of 14-year-old
Riots erupt after Afro-Carribean and Asian communities hold meeting
No evidence that young Carribean girl was raped by Asian gang, say police

Key quote
"The concern of the community was very much focused on the sexual assault. But a small group of individuals used the opportunity for violence, which resulted in the quick but extreme burst we witnessed Saturday night" - Detective Superintendent Dave Mirfield

Story in full POLICE are investigating 80 crimes - including the murder of a man - in the wake of racially charged riots that erupted in Birmingham over the weekend.

Four people were stabbed during the violence, a police officer was shot in the leg with a ball-bearing gun, and 25 others were hospitalised with serious injuries.

A 23-year-old black man, who was stabbed outside a shop in the Lozells area of west Birmingham, later died in hospital.

Two pubs were attacked in the wave of violence, thought to have involved up to 50 rioters in the west of the city.

Police arrested five people in connection with the disorder and promised further arrests.

The riots occurred after members of the Afro-Caribbean and South Asian communities held a meeting on Saturday over the alleged rape of a 14-year-old black girl by an Asian shopkeeper.

Yesterday, more than 40 community leaders met again with officers and members of the press in a bid to unravel what caused the night of violence and appeal for calm.

Khalid Mahmood, MP for Perry Bar, said: "What we have now is a very serious situation in which a man has been murdered. The police have been trying to resolve the issues around this and we are telling people to remain calm as they do so."

Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw added: "This is now officially a murder investigation. We need people to come forward.

"I feel a sense of sorrow that we have lost someone from the community, that innocent people in the area have been attacked and injured and that one of our colleagues was shot."

About 82 per cent of the population in the Lozells area of Birmingham come from minority groups. A strong Afro- Caribbean presence exists often uncomfortably next to an Asian majority.

Last week, tensions grew after rumours began circulating that a black teenager was gang-raped by an Asian shop owner and his friends under threat of taking her to police after she was caught shoplifting. The 14-year-old was said to be an illegal immigrant.

A West Indian radio station is said to have broadcast the story and Asian businessmen claimed they were being threatened by black youths in retaliation.

Yesterday, police said not a "shred of evidence" to support the rape charge had been uncovered, but called for the alleged victim to come forward.

The riots marked an end to a week of peaceful protests outside the shopping area where the alleged rape took place. On Saturday morning, 1,000 local people signed a petition calling for "justice" for the girl.

That evening, local community members met police to discuss their concerns. Bishop Joe Aldred from the Council of Black Led-Churches, told the BBC that the riot came as a surprise after a meeting that seemed to ease tensions.

"[The riot] could not have been linked to the church meeting, because what came out of that was the kind of stuff that would allay fears, not heighten them," he said.

Detective Superintendent Dave Mirfield added: "The concern of the community was very much focused on the sexual assault. But a small group of individuals used the opportunity for violence, which resulted in the quick but extreme burst we witnessed Saturday night."

Of the multicultural melting pots that now define British cities, Birmingham has long been a rancorous cauldron, with tensions periodically boiling over into riots.

In Saturday night's violence, there were echoes of the Handsworth Riots that rocked the city 20 years ago.

Two days of unrest in 1985 left two dead, 35 in hospital and up to 50 buildings damaged or destroyed. The violence erupted following the arrest of a black man after a police stop-and-search.

Religious and community leaders have been working hard in the intervening years to transform the area into a multi- cultural centre.

In 2003, Birmingham City council created a specialist team within the housing department to ease the city's racial tensions.

Even so, gangs have grown up in the area and trouble has been often linked to drugs and gun crime. The black gangs are divided among themselves and engage often in "black-on-black" turf wars.

In 2003, Charlene Ellis, 18, and Letisha Shakespeare, 17, were shot dead outside a hairdresser's in nearby Aston in a vendetta killing.

Tensions that do not spill over often seethe under the surface. As recently as last week, the president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce warned that city businesses were increasingly employing members of one ethnic group, leading to segregation and growing tension.

He said groups are becoming increasingly isolated despite living in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods.



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