British Riots
UK police watchdog justifies killing of Mark Duggan
By Robert Stevens, 26 March 2015
Duggan, a 29-year-old father of six, was unarmed when he was shot twice in Tottenham, north London by an armed police officer on August 4, 2011.
Research confirms harshness of sentences handed out to youth following the 2011 UK riots
By Barry Mason, 4 November 2014
The denial of basic rights to those arrested showed there was no constituency within the British ruling class prepared to defend basic democratic norms.
UK police get away with killing of Mark Duggan
By Julie Hyland, 10 January 2014
Duggan’s killing in north London was the spark for riots that quickly spread across the country in 2011.
One year since the UK riots
By Robert Stevens, 8 August 2012
On August 6, 2011, riots erupted after the police killing of Mark Duggan, an unarmed father of four, in Tottenham, London.
UK police to use live rounds, plastic bullets and water cannon in future riots
By Robert Stevens, 27 December 2011
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has recommended that police should be able to use water cannon, rubber bullets and live firearms during any future UK riots.
Three more jailed for Facebook comments on UK summer riots
By Steve James, 17 December 2011
Two teenagers from Dundee, Scotland, and a 22-year-old man from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, were imprisoned for years for statements posted on Facebook at the time of riots in English cities last summer.
Report concludes British riots provoked by police brutality and poverty
By Julie Hyland, 8 December 2011
The first comprehensive investigation into the riots that swept London and other parts of England in August has confirmed that police brutality, poverty and social inequality were the primary motivating factors in their eruption.
Mark Duggan unarmed when shot by UK police
By Julie Hyland, 21 November 2011
An official investigation into the police killing of Mark Duggan has revealed that the 29-year-old father of four was unarmed when he was shot.
Social deprivation led to UK riots, figures show
By Julie Hyland, 29 October 2011
Social deprivation was the main factor in the disturbances that broke out in London and other cities in August, government statistics confirm.
UK: Citizens Inquiry covers up real reasons for Tottenham riots
By our reporter, 20 October 2011
The initial meeting of the Citizens Inquiry into August’s Tottenham riots took place last Saturday. The area erupted after Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four, was fatally shot by police on August 4.
Julie Hyland addresses Berlin election campaign rally
By Julie Hyland, 23 September 2011
On September 17, the Partei für Soziale Gleichheit (Socialist Equality Party—PSG) held a European workers rally against racism, war and social cutbacks at the conclusion of the party’s election campaign in Berlin.
“Are we paying people just to come and kill us?”
London family subject to brutal police raid speaks out
By Paul Bond, 13 September 2011
The riots triggered by the police killing of Mark Duggan on August 4 have unleashed a wave of legal repression, including numerous raids by armed response units seeking to arrest alleged rioters.
30,000 arrests planned
London neighbourhoods terrorized by police raids
By Paul Stuart, 1 September 2011
One month after major disturbances were provoked by the August 4 police killing of Mark Duggan in north London, the Metropolitan Police are intensifying raids on working class neighbourhoods.
A right-wing rant against British youth from Slavoj Zizek
By Stefan Steinberg, 27 August 2011
Slovenian philosopher Slavoj iek has launched a vicious attack on the youth involved in the riots.
Metropolitan Police deny due process to British youth
By Robert Stevens, 26 August 2011
Three weeks after the outbreak of widespread rioting in London, the Metropolitan Police continue to hunt down anyone suspected of involvement.
The ex-left and the British riots
By Chris Marsden, 25 August 2011
The riots that swept London and other cities earlier this month revealed the plethora of fake-left groupings that portray themselves as “socialist,” “communist” and even “Trotskyist” to be the champions of capitalist “law and order.”
Scottish government aided suppression of youth riots
By Steve James, 25 August 2011
The Scottish National Party government in Edinburgh despatched riot police earlier in August to assist police forces in England with the suppression of youth riots in major cities.
Government considers curfew powers following UK riots
By Robert Stevens, 20 August 2011
In the aftermath of last week’s riots, the Conservative/Liberal government is actively planning the imposition of curfew powers covering wide geographical areas.
Bristol riots in Britain—A Tale of Two Cities
By Richard Duckworth, 19 August 2011
The Bristol riots are a reflection of social deprivation and exclusion in Bristol, and also of the political disenfranchisement of the working class.
Workers speak out on British riots: “The system is not viable”
By our reporting teams, 19 August 2011
Reporting teams from the World Socialist Web Site spoke to residents in the cities of Manchester and Leeds about recent riots, police brutality and the social conditions facing working class youth on a daily basis.
Youth sentenced to years in jail for posting Facebook notices during British riots
By Robert Stevens, 18 August 2011
Crown court judges in England handed down long jail sentences to two young men for posting comments on Facebook.
The stench of a police state
By Julie Hyland, 17 August 2011
The events of the last 12 days are a warning to the working class in Britain and internationally.
Pervasive unemployment and poverty in London areas hit by riots
By Paul Stuart, 16 August 2011
The British political establishment is imposing vicious class justice against young people accused of involvement in last week’s riots that swept London and other cities, areas devastated by joblessness and cuts to social services.
Police Complaints Commission lied about police shooting that sparked British riots
By Robert Stevens, 15 August 2011
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has admitted it “may have inadvertently given misleading information” about the circumstances surrounding the police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in Tottenham, north London.
Media demand mass arrests, reprisals against UK rioters
By Robert Stevens, 13 August 2011
Magistrates’ courts in London and other British cities have begun to hand down the harshest possible sentences to those accused of involvement in the riots that swept across cities in England earlier this week.
SEP (UK) public meetings
Oppose state repression against youth in Britain
13 August 2011
The Socialist Equality Party in Britain has organised a series of meetings inviting all who oppose the state repression and erosion of democratic rights being imposed in the aftermath of the recent riots, to attend to discuss the political way forward.
Parliament demands violent repression of British youth riots
By Julie Hyland, 12 August 2011
Yesterday’s emergency debate in the British Parliament, recalled in emergency session following the eruption of youth riots earlier this week, was a contemptible spectacle.
Oppose state repression of British youth
By Socialist Equality Party (UK), 11 August 2011
The Socialist Equality Party unequivocally condemns the police assault that has been unleashed against young people in Britain and demands the immediate withdrawal of riot police from the areas they now occupy.
16,000 police deployed in London to put down youth revolt
By Robert Stevens, 10 August 2011
Prime Minister David Cameron chaired a meeting of the governmental emergency COBRA committee yesterday and called a special sitting in parliament Thursday in response to continuing rioting in London and other cities in England.
Major police clampdown as riots spread across London and other UK cities
By Julie Hyland, 9 August 2011
A massive police presence has been established across parts of the capital in an attempt to crush the eruption of social anger that has affected areas of north and southeast London and is spreading to other UK cities.
Fatal police shooting sparks riot in north London
By Julie Hyland, 8 August 2011
Disturbances broke out in Tottenham, north London on Saturday night. They followed protests over the shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year old father of four by police on Thursday.
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