Disinformation was ‘central accelerant’ in Leicester Hindu-Muslim clashes, inquiry finds

Report into ‘unprecedented’ violence between members of two communities in 2022 calls for action on communalismUK politics live – latest updatesViolence between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester in 2022 was fuelled by online disinformation and met with a failure of leadership from the city’s mayor, council and police, an independent inquiry has said.Researchers from the School of Oriental and African Studies and the London School of Economics carried out the study after the unrest between predominantly young Hindu and Muslim men in Leicester between May and September 2022.No single group was solely responsible, with members of Hindu and Muslim communities described as “both victims and perpetrators”.Online disinformation was a “central accelerant of the crisis”, fuelling distrust.Community coexistence in Leicester is “increasingly fragmenting” amid new migration patterns, economic decline and the importation of political ideologies such as communalism, Hindutva and political Islamism.Communalism within south Asian communities in the UK “needs to be urgently recognised and addressed”.The response from local authorities, including the city council, mayor and police was “lacking or inconsistent” with “major gaps” in intelligence and communication. Continue reading...