The Bradford Riots, 20 years on - have things changed? Local figures give their views

The Bradford Riots lasted for three days, starting on 7 July 2001, as racial tensions reached breaking point.

20 years on, some argue that not a lot has changed, and that feelings of fear, tension and a lack of understanding along racial lines remain big problems in Bradford.

Others argue that the city has moved forward and learned lessons since 2001, with segregation and feelings of animosity no longer an issue.

Dr Javed Bashir is the CEO of the Professional Muslims Institute, a group which is dedicated to the advancement of Muslim people in professional settings across the UK.

Dr Bashir, who is a well-known community figure in the city and also has an honorary degree from the University of Bradford, was born in Pakistan and moved to Keighley as a child.

In 2001, he was working in the restaurant business, as the boss of Balti Chef on Manor Row.

Just a month after the riots, Dr Bashir invited 40 Bradfordians – who were all of different backgrounds, cultures and faiths – to his restaurant for a free meal, on the condition that they sat down and spoke with one another.

He was driven by a will to bring about change and cohesion in the aftermath of the riots, but was also influenced by the Ouseley Report – a response to race relations in Bradford published by the former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, Lord Ouseley. 

The Ouseley report noted racial tensions, segregation and feelings of fear and mistrust between different ethnic communities in Bradford. Its publication coincided with the riots, but the report had in fact been put together months before.

At the meal, it was reported that people from areas such as Manningham – which has traditionally had a large migrant, particularly Pakistani, population – dined with people from Holme Wood, an area which, traditionally, has always had a majority white British population.

Speaking in 2001, Dr Bashir said: "Some of the people from Holme Wood have told me they have never really talked to an Asian before, so it is good to get the dialogue started.

“I hope it continues from here and we see more openness between communities. We all live in the same city, and we can live in peace and harmony."

20 years on, Dr Bashir argues that, despite many making an effort to build bridges in Bradford, “nothing much has changed”.

He believes that racial tension and a lack of understanding between different communities remains a problem, even saying that things now – in some senses – are perhaps even worse than they were back in 2001.

“20 years later, we are still living segregated lives in the district, possibly more than before”, he says.

“Some effort had been made to bring communities together at a district level. But the reports done in Bradford by Lord Ouseley, Ted Cantle and Dame Casey have been shelved.

“There are examples of good practice on a smaller level, where projects as such as the Volunteering Interfaith Partnership (VIP) have been trying to break those barriers but, as a whole, the district has failed to bring different communities together.

“We are still fragmented on racial, cultural and faith lines, maybe even more than we were back then.”

Looking back at the riots, Dr Bashir claims that Bradford went from a city that was “jam-packed” with people to being a “ghost town” in the immediate aftermath.

“I was running a restaurant in Bradford when this rioting was taking place just a few metres away”, he said.

“Bradford is the curry capital, and even back then, we had customers coming from all over. They came from places like Hull and Liverpool for a good, authentic Bradford curry.

“Manor Row and Cheapside were always jam-packed with people who were going out to enjoy themselves at restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

“But the riots changed everything, and the city centre became a ghost town.  There was hardly anyone in the city centre afterwards, as the riots created a sense of fear in people’s minds.

“Lord Herman Ouseley’s report on Bradford found that the city had been ‘fragmenting along racial, cultural and faith lines’ for some time, creating a ‘climate of fear’.

“I organised free meals for people from different communities to encourage them to come back to the city and to build understanding, as both Asian and white communities were living segregated lives. 

“I organised a number of visits and activities between Asian youths in Manningham and white youths in Holme Wood, back then.

“Services need to ensure that they make community cohesion a priority, so that we can avoid any repeats of this in the future, and move towards a better understanding of each other and our respective communities.”

Contrastingly, Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, offered a different perspective, arguing that Bradford is no longer segregated and that “lessons have been learned” since the riots.

“Bradford is a diverse city which left those shadows a long time ago. I do not think that Bradford is a segregated city anymore”, she said.

“I think the idea that it is segregated buys into this whole idea that there are no-go zones here, which is not true at all.

“I think people have learned lessons over the last 20 years. There were failures, but lots of work has been done.”

Ms Shah claimed that there are numerous examples of how Bradford has recovered since 2001, referencing the success of the city’s university, and the City of Culture bid.

“We had 10 years of austerity, but in spite of that, Bradford has the highest entrepreneurial spirit in the UK. From a social mobility perspective, the University of Bradford is number one, and we as a city are applying to be the City of Culture 2025.

“Those things can only be done with diversity at the forefront and the heart of them.

“I do not get the idea that we are a segregated city – if anything, I think that Bradford is a beacon of hope, and that we show others how things should be done."

Dr Manawar Jan-Khan, of Manningham Residents’ Association, said that on the 20th anniversary of the riots people should not allow new generations to forget the day when "the far-right challenged our legitimacy and British citizenry to exist in our own country of birth, as the police stood by and ignored our pleas for action.”

He added: “Many of us did not wish to repeat the experiences of our parents, nor would we allow far-right foot soldiers to shout abuse on our doorsteps.

"More importantly, they, like me, wished to defend their status as British citizens, the equal of their opponents. At that time as a community, we were united in this belief, and that of the failure of institutions and Bradford’s political establishment to protect us.

"Our aim was to face our racist critics and emphasise that we were not going anywhere as British Bradfordian people. The diversity of youth with us on the streets that day, black, brown and white, demonstrated our collective embrace of the future, while the BNP clung to their outdated past.

“20 years on, I wonder if anything has really changed in the local authority psyche that appears to remain in a state of perplexed ambivalence, if not denial, of race issues, so recently re-emphasised by Black Lives Matter as a global grass-roots response to systematic injustices."

Bradford Council leader, Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, said the Council’s response since the events of 2001 has been to “focus on our common goals and shared values”, adding that it believes “Bradford has moved on”.

She said: “Bradford was one of a number of places where riots occurred 20 years ago. There is no doubt that they were deeply damaging and were driven by complex factors that are not unique to Bradford and which affect many cities across the country. We had to think long and hard as a community about the place we were and wanted to be.

“Our response has been to focus on our common goals and shared values. We have also focused on working closely at a local level across organisations and all communities to monitor tensions, promote dialogue and generate opportunities for people to mix.

“We’re not complacent, in any big city there is always work to do. But we do believe that, 20 years later, Bradford has moved on.

“The district is a place filled with young, vibrant people where everyone – whatever their background – can live, work, learn and socialise together. 

“We work hard to ensure communities celebrate what we have in common and the strength we get from different faiths, beliefs and opinions. These are underpinned by a shared set of values that champion respect, tolerance, freedom and equality of opportunity.

“We’re focused now on recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. Our plans prioritise investment in skills, education and our young people. We have a pipeline of projects to deliver which will have a transformational impact on the district’s future. The centrepiece of this is our bid to be City of Culture 2025. We’re looking forward, not back, and believe that this is our time.”