‘You can shout but they don’t listen’ – Inside the simmering anger after the riots
The rat man from the council has just turned up. He is back at James and Oscar’s home laying more poison that the rats keep eating.
“I woke up the other night at three in the morning and one was biting my nose,” James says.
It’s the stuff of nightmares but it has become James and Oscar’s everyday struggle. A nearby building has the words “rat city” daubed on one of the walls.
“There was a fire next door,” Oscar explains.
“The rats came out of there and now there’s problems with them in the drains.”
He showed us around their overgrown garden. “It’s like a rats’ playground” he says, thoroughly fed up with it all.
The pair are friends and neighbours – and invited us in to discuss the riots that erupted across the UK in early August, including in their home city of Hull.
They were there on the fringes of the trouble but not, they tell us, directly involved.
It was a “kick back”, James tells us, over the UK’s failed immigration policies.
When Keir Starmer described the riots as “far-right thuggery” James believes he failed to grasp what was happening.
“I have seen people crying in doorways… they are cold, and they are hungry…who is helping the English-born people?” has asks.
“What I am not is a racist person… I just look at the pain in people’s eyes sometimes and you think, ‘What the hell? What is going on?’
“Their (migrants’) problems are getting solved but nobody is solving the problem of the people who are living on the streets.”
James and Oscar are angry that migrants stay in hotels while people around them struggle
Neither Oscar nor James work due to poor health and spend their days watching YouTube channels dedicated to investigating Britain’s immigration problems.
They are both angry about immigration, really angry.
While they ultimately blame the government they resent the way asylum seekers are put into hotels while their claims are processed.
“Get rid of them, I just think it is wrong,” Oscar says.
“I ain’t got a problem with being in other people’s countries and I haven’t got a problem with them being in mine.
“But when it’s taking away all our necessary needs – hospitals, dentists, hotels… housing. It is just pfft…” He throws his arms up in the air in despair.
Riot police had to defend a hotel housing migrants in the city
The pair watched as rioters surrounded a hotel next to the station in Hull on 3 August.
It’s currently home to dozens of predominantly young men waiting to hear if they will be allowed to stay.
James acknowledges there was appalling racism that day and says he has sympathy for genuine asylum seekers.
“I don’t think everybody thinks like me and goes, ‘God bless them, they’ve got problems too’,” he says.
“They have been through hell, they have been through warzones but… people felt a lot of anger, a lot of frustration, like, you know, people living on the streets, who are not getting looked after.“
Oscar later takes us to meet Donna – who sits outside a nearby shop with a sign that reads “JOB WANTED”.
She used to run her own cleaning business but after the death of her daughter in a car accident her life fell apart. Last November she also lost her partner.
Donna used to run a cleaning business but now sleeps in an underpass
For the past two and half years, Donna has been homeless. She purposefully hides herself away under a road bridge most nights so nobody can attack her.
“Where I am it’s so dark that nobody is going to be able to see me,” she says.
“Every time you think you are getting back up… there is something or someone who kicks you back down again.
“England is the place that has got a big sign for people that says ‘Freebies’, come in and we’ll get you in a hotel – that is the way it comes across to people.”
Donna says there’s always ‘something or someone who kicks you back down again’
“They (the government) want to sort their own problems out first and this is one of them,” says Donna, gesturing to the gloomy underpass she calls her bedroom.
It’s a problem they see most days at a community interest company called Adapt Resettlement further along Anlaby Road.
Every day, Danny and Lisa lead a small team dedicated to trying to get a roof over people’s heads.
“If you’ve got drug problems, mental health problems, even just living on the street, it’s a war every day for them,” says Danny.
“They can pitch up somewhere when a gang of kids will go and kick the tents, will kick their head in, it is a war daily for them.
Danny (left) says it’s incorrect to say all those caught up in the trouble are racist
“So, I get what they’re saying, that they (asylum seekers) are fleeing wars, but ours are fighting in a daily war,” adds Danny.
“Not everybody was in that riot for the same reason. There will have been people in that riot because they are homeless, they haven’t had help.
“But that doesn’t make them racist. They just wanted to get their point across.”
Danny has served time for violent offences in the past – and has also been homeless himself. He pins the blame for the riots squarely at the door of politicians.
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Aftermath of unrest and looting in Hull
“The government laid the bomb. And it’s just exploded,” he says.
“It is down to the government to sort it… The only way that they will do it, in my eyes, is that they give them equal opportunities.
“If they’re going to allow them in then so be it. But please look after ours as well. Otherwise, it’ll just continue, and it will.”
Read more:
Man apologises to mosque worshipper after Hull demo led to riot
Mum-of-six jailed for ‘truly disgraceful’ behaviour in riots
We joined Danny’s final home visit of the day, where we meet Carl.
‘There’s a lot of tension in the air, there is a lot of aggression,’ says Carl
He’s trying to stabilise his life, improve his health and eat better, but needs ongoing support.
He’s finally got a roof over his head thanks to the project.
“You can shout so loud can’t you and they don’t listen,” Carl tells us.
“It is just one of those things it boils over sometimes.
“There’s a lot of tension in the air, there is a lot of aggression and a lot of animosity.”
The police and courts have clamped down hard on those who were involved in the riots on 3 August. Earlier this month the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “There is no place for such appalling, senseless violence on our streets, and this government is determined to stamp out the scourge of serious violence wherever it is found.”
Meanwhile, the anger, animosity, and jealousy that helped fuel them still exists.
The roots of the riots run deep.
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
Read more on this story:
‘Fix care before assisted dying legislation’
Why assisted dying is controversial – and where it’s already legal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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