Online disinformation was identified as a “central accelerant"
An independent inquiry has concluded that the 2022 unrest in Leicester was fuelled by online disinformation and marked by a failure of local leadership.
Researchers from the School of Oriental and African Studies and the London School of Economics carried out the study following months of disorder in the East Midlands city.
The violence, which unfolded between May and September 2022, involved predominantly young Hindu and Muslim men.
Leicester, long regarded as a model of community cohesion, witnessed vandalism, assaults and attacks on homes and businesses.
More than 50 people have been charged with offences linked to the violence, according to police.
The inquiry conducted in-depth interviews with about 80 people and consulted witnesses and individuals involved in the unrest.
It found “no evidence of leadership” from Leicester city council and its Labour mayor, Peter Soulsby, in managing tensions or providing adequate support to residents.
The report said repeated attempts to contact and involve the mayor were declined.
It concluded that the response from local authorities, including the city council, mayor and police, was “lacking or inconsistent” and marked by “major gaps” in intelligence and communication.
According to the findings, Leicestershire police “suffered from intelligence gaps, poor communication, inconsistent operational decisions and a lack of understanding of communal dynamics in South Asian communities”.
However, the report added that “several police actions [that] prevented far greater violence”.
The inquiry noted that no significant intercommunal meetings had taken place since 2022. It warned this had contributed to “continued mistrust” and allowed “polarising narratives to fill the vacuum”.
It also found that no single group was solely responsible. Members of Hindu and Muslim communities were described as “both victims and perpetrators”.
Online disinformation was identified as a “central accelerant of the crisis”, fuelling distrust between communities.
The report stated that 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.
It added that communalism within South Asian communities in the UK “needs to be urgently recognised and addressed”.
The inquiry found that clashes in August and September 2022 were preceded by months of rising tensions.
In May, a “violent attack … by a group of Hindu youths on a young Muslim man” marked an early flashpoint.
Further incidents followed, including an egg attack on a Hindu household in early September.
On September 17, a large march by Hindu youths moved “from a ‘Hindu area’ (Belgrave) to a ‘Muslim area’ (Green Lane Road)”.
The unrest also included confrontations between India and Pakistan cricket supporters on 15 August. The clashes attracted global attention.
Professor Chetan Bhatt, who contributed to the research, said he had never previously witnessed such levels of polarisation between Hindus and Muslims in the UK.
He added: “You have never had hundreds of Hindus or hundreds of Muslims mobilising to attack each other.”
The report concluded that “both Hindu nationalist and political Islamist actors actively sought to inflame division for political ends”, although their influence was uneven.
Bhatt warned that communalism, intense loyalty to a religious or ethnic group, often leading to sectarian conflict, remained a risk to community relations in the UK.
He said: “[If] you had some serious incident happening in India or between India and Pakistan.
“That has the potential, because of the divisions that exist [and] the memories of what happened and the distrust… to become a street-level issue.”
Following the unrest, the then communities secretary, Michael Gove, commissioned a separate investigation chaired by Ian Austin.
The government said it was reviewing that panel’s findings and recommendations.
Both the government and academic investigations have faced criticism from groups questioning their independence.
Among the report’s recommendations are the creation of a permanent community unity forum and specialist training for police officers on understanding communalism and sectarian dynamics.
In response, Leicestershire police said officers had faced an “exceptionally complex set of challenges”.
The force said it continued to work closely with communities, including inviting religious and community leaders to join joint patrols and observe investigative processes.
Officers also received briefings on cultural sensitivities and used communication channels to counter misinformation, the force added.
Chief Superintendent Shane O’Neill said: “Throughout the incident and in the period since, we have worked closely with our communities and partner agencies to identify and address the root causes of the unrest, and we have continued our engagement efforts to support recovery and learning.”
Soulsby said he had not received a copy of the report in advance of its publication but would “look carefully at what they have to say”.
He added: “When they began their research, nearly three years ago, I did raise some questions with them about their independence, who had commissioned them, and how they were going to take evidence.
“I didn’t get a convincing explanation. I don’t know who they have spoken to.”
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