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Thursday, 12 July, 2001, 15:01 GMT 16:01 UK
Summer of discontent
Police officers in full riot gear man a blockade in Burnley on 24 June 2001
Some of the worst rioting the UK has seen in 20 years erupted in the summer months in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford in the north of England. Here, BBC News Online brings you some of the key reports of the violence and findings of the subsequent inquiries.


11 December 2001: Race 'segregation' caused riots says report

Home Secretary David Blunkett welcomes much of the main report's content
Home Secretary David Blunkett welcomes much of the main report's content

"Shockingly" divided communities stoked by far-right extremists led to summer riots in Bradford, Oldham and Burnley, according to a government-commissioned report. The inquiry by the Community Cohesion Review Team is one of four published simultaneously, all concerned with the north of England's summer racial tension.

News image The BBC's June Kelly reports



16 July 2001: Muslims call for riots inquiry

Rioting on the streets of Bradford
Rioting on the streets of Bradford

Muslim leaders are pressing for a full inquiry into the causes of the riots in Bradford and other towns in the north of England. They are also calling for new laws to combat religious discrimination.

News image The BBC's Andy Tighe reports



12 July 2001: City ' in fear'

Lord Ouseley, author of the Bradford report
Lord Ouseley, author of the Bradford report

A long-awaited report into race relations in Bradford paints a picture of a 'city in fear.' The report was commissioned before the violence. Lord Ouseley, who wrote the report, says the city's schools have done little to promote understanding between ethnic groups. He calls for a 'deep change' in the attitudes of all Bradford's communities in order to promote racial harmony.

News image The BBC's Catherine Marston reports


News image Click here to watch the report from Lord Ouseley in full


July 2001: Bradford's night of riots

Smoke billows from behind a blockade in Bradford on 7 July 2001
Smoke billows from behind a blockade in Bradford on 7 July 2001

In some of the worst rioting in Britain for many years, 200 people are injured and 36 people are arrested during several hours of running battles between riot police and about 1,000 mainly Asian youths. Buildings and cars are burned, and shops are looted in the Manningham district of the city.

News image The BBC's Barnie Choudhury reports


News image UK Home Secretary David Blunkett condemns the "wanton destruction and violence" of the Bradford riots


June 2001: Violence flares in Burnley

The aftermath of the disturbances in Burnley on 25 June 2001
The aftermath of the disturbances in Burnley on 25 June 2001

A weekend of violence in Burnley in June climaxes with more than 200 youths attacking shops, homes and vehicles. Police in riot gear manage to head off direct confrontation between gangs of Asian and white youths but they admit to being taken by surprise at the scale of the trouble.

News image The BBC's Dave Guest reports


'It was terrifying'

The pub in Glodwick in Oldham which was the scene of clashes
The pub in Glodwick in Oldham which was the scene of clashes

Paul Barrow, landlord of the Live and Let Live pub in the Glodwick area of town which came under attack twice, said it was terrifying. "They all charged in, kicking us, punching us and then proceeded to attack all my customers with whatever they had in their hand - stools, bottles, glasses," he said.

News image Eyewitness account by pub landlord Paul Barrow


News image Youth worker Ashid Ali, who believes that extremist groups such as the National Front sparked the violence


May 2001: Oldham 'shocked' by violence

Police vehicles drive through flames in Oldham on May 28 2001
Police vehicles drive through flames in Oldham on May 28 2001

Police, residents and community leaders speak of their shock at the scale of the violence between police and young Asian youths in Oldham. Fifteen police officers are injured and 17 people arrested after weeks of racial tension erupt into what Greater Manchester Police describe as "sheer carnage."

News image The BBC's Gavin Hewitt reports



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