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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Josh Halliday North of England editor

‘Simply wanting to belong to something’: why did children take part in the English riots?

People at the scene of a riot at the Holiday Inn Express near Rotherham.
People at the scene of a riot at the Holiday Inn Express near Rotherham. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The footage played in court lasted only seconds. A 16-year-old boy, dressed all in black with his face covered, hurled a rock towards riot police from the steps of Bolton’s cenotaph. Around him people chanted: “Allah! Allah! Who the fuck is Allah?”

Little over two weeks later the teenager stood, bewildered, in the glass dock of Manchester youth court, with a conviction for violent disorder.

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