Highlights
- An independent inquiry has blamed online disinformation and leadership failures for the 2022 Hindu-Muslim violence in Leicester.
- The 200-page report found "no evidence of leadership" from Leicester city council and its Labour mayor Peter Soulsby.
- Leicestershire police were criticised for intelligence gaps, poor communication and inconsistent operational decisions.
The disorder, which took place between May and September 2022 in Leicester long regarded as a model of community cohesion — involved vandalism, attacks and assaults on homes and businesses, with more than 50 people charged with related offences.
The report found that no single group was solely responsible, describing members of both Hindu and Muslim communities as "both victims and perpetrators."
Disinformation fuelled tensions
The inquiry found online disinformation was a "central accelerant of the crisis," fuelling deep mistrust between communities.
The clashes were preceded by months of rising tensions, beginning in May with what the report described as a "violent attack by a group of Hindu youths on a young Muslim man."
Further incidents followed, including an egg attack on a Hindu household and a large march by Hindu youths from Belgrave to Green Lane Road in September, which attracted global attention.
The report also noted that confrontations between India and Pakistan cricket supporters on 15 August contributed to escalating tensions.
LSE sociology professor Chetan Bhatt, who contributed to the research, told The Guardian he had never previously witnessed such levels of polarisation between Hindus and Muslims in the UK, adding that communalism remained a serious risk to community relations nationally.
Leadership failures exposed
The report found "no evidence of leadership" from Leicester city council and Labour mayor Peter Soulsby, noting that repeated attempts to involve the mayor were declined.
Leicestershire police were criticised for "intelligence gaps, poor communication, inconsistent operational decisions and a lack of understanding of communal dynamics in south Asian communities," though the report acknowledged that several police actions prevented far greater violence.
The inquiry also warned that community coexistence in Leicester is "increasingly fragmenting" amid new migration patterns, economic decline and the influence of political ideologies including communalism, Hindutva and political Islamism.
Among its recommendations are the creation of a permanent community unity forum and specialist police training on communalism and sectarian dynamics.
Mayor Soulsby said he would "look carefully at what they have to say" but questioned the inquiry's independence.
