3.45pm update

Fears over race violence in Oldham and Aylesbury

Oldham police pledge to maintain zero tolerance as 21 arrested for race violence in Aylesbury
Special report: Race in Britain

Staff and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Monday May 28 2001 17.09 BST

Police today stressed they would be maintaining their zero tolerance policy in Oldham following two nights of race-related violence, as 21 men were being questioned over a race riot in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Officers from Greater Manchester police were criticised by some members of the Asian community for their "heavy-handed" dispersal of Asian youths in the Glodwick and Westwood areas of the town.

But Greater Manchester assistant chief constable Alan Bridge said officers would continue to maintain a high-visibility presence in the town, which has seen some of the worst race-related violence in Britain for 15 years.

Last night gangs of youths hurled petrol bombs and erected burning barricades, as hundreds of police attempted to prevent a second night of rioting.

Sporadic fighting across the town escalated in the early hours of the morning as officers in full riot gear battled to retain control.

Police have stressed that the violence was not on a par with Saturday night's seven-hour barrage of petrol bombs and bricks by a 500-strong crowd of Asian youths.

Last night the headquarters of the local newspaper, the Oldham Evening Chronicle, were firebombed as riot police fought to control the streets of the town.

Philip Hirst, managing director of the newspaper, has rejected suggestions that it was targeted by Asians who felt the paper gave undue prominence to racist attacks on white people.

Last night the Westwood area of the town saw a barricade of furniture and tyres set alight in Ward Street, with the trouble then returning to the Glodwick area.

Around 100 riot police with body armour and shields sealed off the main roads in the area while a police helicopter monitored the situation from overhead.

Dog handlers were also brought in, but by 4am the streets appeared quiet and crowds had dispersed.

Seven white youths and five Asian youths were arrested following the disturbances.

Officers are continuing to investigate how Saturday's night of "ferocity and sheer carnage", as one senior police officer described it, began.

Chief Superintendent Eric Hewitt, of Greater Manchester police, said he was shocked by the ferocity of the rioting on Saturday, which left 15 officers with minor injuries.

Both police and council officials said activity by right wing extremists had stirred up racial tensions in Oldham.

Ch Supt Hewitt said: "There is no doubt that the presence of the National Front and British National Party in recent weeks would seem to be a deliberate ploy to exploit our racial situation and it has struck a chord of fear among all our communities, not just Asians."

Asian youth leaders today condemned the violence but insisted that it was due to frustration at policing methods.

Ashid Ali, chairman of the Oldham Bangladeshi Youth Association, accused the police of being heavy-handed with Asian youths who were reacting to provocation from white aggressors.

"Right wing extremists and members of the National Front have been trying to stir trouble every Saturday for five weeks, and for the main part, the police response has been adequate.

"We had tried to avoid trouble but when it came to our doorstep people defended themselves and the police were extremely heavy-handed in their response."

Meanwhile, 11 Asian men, nine white men and one black man were today being questioned by Thames Valley police following a riot in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, last night.

Officers were confronted by up to 60 people, some brandishing bats and other weapons, in a residential street. The group dispersed after police made arrests for public order offences.

Police said the incident was sparked by a recent racist attack, rather than the recent violence in Oldham.

A community spokesperson, Said Khan, 23, said the 60 Asians were retaliating against a gang of skinheads after they beat up a youth in the park in a racist attack.

He claimed that shots were fired in the air by an Asian with a handgun and bricks were hurled through the window of the house, where whites claiming to be from far-right group Combat 18 were taking refuge.

The Mayor of Aylesbury, Raj Khan, said he had heard reports from the Asian community that the whites were part of a National Front meeting.

He was appealing for calm in order to avoid any repetition of the scenes of race violence being witnessed in Oldham.

He added: "I have been meeting the young people and defusing the situation.

"I'm just worried that when they have time to reflect that they might do something silly."

The events in Oldham have sparked a political row between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, today backed claims that the Tories helped create an atmosphere that led to the Oldham riots.

The Conservatives demanded an apology after the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, Simon Hughes, accused William Hague's party of creating a climate of intolerance.

Shadow chancellor Michael Portillo described Simon Hughes's comments as "disgraceful".

Jack Straw, the home secretary, also called on politicians to moderate their language, but criticised the "moral relativism" of shifting the blame from criminals to the Tories.

"I don't happen to agree with either Simon Hughes or Charles Kennedy that you can lay the blame for what happened at the door of the Conservatives," he told the BBC. "I don't think Mr Hague approves of it any more than I do."

Tony Blair insisted that the Oldham riots were not typical of the state of British race relations, and offered "total and complete support" to the police.