St Pauls riot
Encyclopedia
The St Pauls riot occurred in St Pauls, Bristol
, England
on 2 April 1980 when police
raided the Black and White Café on Grosvenor Road in the heart of the area. After several hours of disturbance in which fire engines and police cars were damaged, 130 people were arrested. 25 persons were taken to hospital, including 19 police and members of the press.
The riot occurred against a background of increasing racial tension, poor housing and alienation of black youth. As a result of the disturbances local authorities and the national government began to pay attention to these issues. The Black and White Café was eventually closed down and demolished in 2005.
party campaigned in local and national elections. St Pauls was blighted by the development of the M32 motorway
, which split the area from the neighbouring district of Easton
. Much of the housing in the area was in a poor state and local education services failed to cater adequately for the needs of either ethnic minorities or indeed many working class white communities.
Increasing use by the police of Sus law
s to stop and search youths, predominantly those from the Afro-Caribbean community, raised tension. There was also an increase in racial harassment on local authority housing estates, which was largely ignored by the housing department.
newspaper, 100-200 black and white youths were involved. The riot continued for many hours and caused much damage to a branch of Lloyds Bank
and a post office. Several fire engines and 12 police cars were also damaged. At one point a police chief famously remarked: "Surely we should be advancing, not retreating?" 130 people were arrested and 90 were charged. The next day the Daily Telegraph carried a headline stating "19 Police Hurt in Black Riot" and blamed lack of parental care.
; nobody died as a result of the riots. 16 of those arrested were prosecuted for riot, but all were either acquitted, had the charges dropped or were discharged after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Copycat riots in Southmead
, a predominately white working class council estate, occurred soon after the St Pauls disturbance.
Later commentators suggested that poverty and the sus law
s were more important causes of the riots than race. The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee held a session in Bristol and Home Secretary
William Whitelaw
came to the city to hold meetings with the local authorities and representatives of the black community. Relations between police and the local community remained tense and reached a low point in 1986 when 600 police raided the Black and White Café again in an action named Operation Delivery. It took intervention by local Member of Parliament
William Waldegrave
to persuade the police to scale down their policy of containment.
The Black and White Café had long had a reputation as a drug den and was allegedly raided more times by the police than any other premises in the country. In 2003 Bristol City Council used its powers of compulsory purchase
and in 2005 the building was demolished and has now been replaced by new homes.
When cabinet papers
were released 30 years later
, they showed that Home Secretary William Whitelaw had reported that the Chief Constable
"accepted that the police had made errors in the initial stages of the incident but [his] subsequent decision to withdraw all officers from the area for several hours had been the only one open to him at the time". Whitelaw said a full public inquiry
was undesirable as it would only lead to the police being criticised for no good purpose, and every controversial matter should not lead to such an inquiry.
St Pauls, Bristol
St Pauls is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated just north east of the city centre and west of the M32. It is bounded by the A38, the B4051 and the A4032 roads...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 2 April 1980 when police
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the territorial police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset, the city & county of Bristol and the unitary authorities of South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset; before 1996 these districts...
raided the Black and White Café on Grosvenor Road in the heart of the area. After several hours of disturbance in which fire engines and police cars were damaged, 130 people were arrested. 25 persons were taken to hospital, including 19 police and members of the press.
The riot occurred against a background of increasing racial tension, poor housing and alienation of black youth. As a result of the disturbances local authorities and the national government began to pay attention to these issues. The Black and White Café was eventually closed down and demolished in 2005.
Background
Bristol in the 1970s had seen an increase in unemployment and a deterioration of race relations as the right wing National FrontBritish National Front
The National Front is a far right, white-only political party whose major political activities took place during the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity peaked in the 1979 general election, when it received 191,719 votes ....
party campaigned in local and national elections. St Pauls was blighted by the development of the M32 motorway
M32 motorway
The M32 is a motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from Bristol city centre to the M4 and is part of the Bristol Parkway. At about , it is one of Britain's shortest motorways...
, which split the area from the neighbouring district of Easton
Easton, Bristol
Easton is both the name of a council ward in the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and an inner city area that lies partly within that ward. The Easton ward also contains the Whitehall and Netham areas of the city. Notable places within the ward include Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road railway...
. Much of the housing in the area was in a poor state and local education services failed to cater adequately for the needs of either ethnic minorities or indeed many working class white communities.
Increasing use by the police of Sus law
Sus law
In England and Wales, the sus law was the informal name for a stop and search law that permitted a police officer to stop, search and potentially arrest people on suspicion of them being in breach of section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824.-1824 legislation:The power to act on "sus" was found in part...
s to stop and search youths, predominantly those from the Afro-Caribbean community, raised tension. There was also an increase in racial harassment on local authority housing estates, which was largely ignored by the housing department.
Riot
It is unclear why the riot started; some sources suggest that it was as a result of police ripping a customer's trousers and refusing to pay, others that they were attacked as they removed alcohol from the café which did not have a drinks licence. According to The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper, 100-200 black and white youths were involved. The riot continued for many hours and caused much damage to a branch of Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...
and a post office. Several fire engines and 12 police cars were also damaged. At one point a police chief famously remarked: "Surely we should be advancing, not retreating?" 130 people were arrested and 90 were charged. The next day the Daily Telegraph carried a headline stating "19 Police Hurt in Black Riot" and blamed lack of parental care.
Aftermath
Nineteen policemen and six other people were taken to hospital, including a cameraman and a photographer from the Western Daily PressWestern Daily Press
The Western Daily Press is a regional newspaper covering parts of South West England , mainly Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset as well as the metropolitan areas of Bath and North East Somerset and the Bristol area. It is published Monday to Saturday in Bristol, UK...
; nobody died as a result of the riots. 16 of those arrested were prosecuted for riot, but all were either acquitted, had the charges dropped or were discharged after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Copycat riots in Southmead
Southmead
Southmead is a northern suburb and council ward of Bristol, in the southwest of England. The town of Filton , and the Bristol suburbs of Monks Park, Horfield, Henleaze and Westbury on Trym lie on its boundaries....
, a predominately white working class council estate, occurred soon after the St Pauls disturbance.
Later commentators suggested that poverty and the sus law
Sus law
In England and Wales, the sus law was the informal name for a stop and search law that permitted a police officer to stop, search and potentially arrest people on suspicion of them being in breach of section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824.-1824 legislation:The power to act on "sus" was found in part...
s were more important causes of the riots than race. The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee held a session in Bristol and Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
William Whitelaw
William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw
William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL , often known as Willie Whitelaw, was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Whitelaw was born in Nairn, in...
came to the city to hold meetings with the local authorities and representatives of the black community. Relations between police and the local community remained tense and reached a low point in 1986 when 600 police raided the Black and White Café again in an action named Operation Delivery. It took intervention by local Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
William Waldegrave
William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill
William Arthur Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, PC , is an English Conservative politician who served in the Cabinet from 1990 until 1997 and is a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group. He is now a life peer. Lord Waldegrave is also the Chairman of the Rhodes Trust and the Chairman of...
to persuade the police to scale down their policy of containment.
The Black and White Café had long had a reputation as a drug den and was allegedly raided more times by the police than any other premises in the country. In 2003 Bristol City Council used its powers of compulsory purchase
Compulsory purchase order
A compulsory purchase order is a legal function in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland that allows certain bodies which need to obtain land or property to do so without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for public betterment - for...
and in 2005 the building was demolished and has now been replaced by new homes.
When cabinet papers
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
were released 30 years later
Thirty year rule
The "thirty year rule" is the popular name given to a law in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Australia that provides that the yearly cabinet papers of a government will be released publicly thirty years after they were created....
, they showed that Home Secretary William Whitelaw had reported that the Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
"accepted that the police had made errors in the initial stages of the incident but [his] subsequent decision to withdraw all officers from the area for several hours had been the only one open to him at the time". Whitelaw said a full public inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
was undesirable as it would only lead to the police being criticised for no good purpose, and every controversial matter should not lead to such an inquiry.