Children involved in last year’s summer race riots following the Southport attacks should have their criminal records wiped clean, England’s children’s commissioner has said.
Dame Rachel de Souza said young people should be allowed to “move on with their lives” and become successful adults, saying offences they committed during the violence should not be held against them for the rest of their lives. The riots were sparked by misinformation spread following the killing of three girls in Southport, with hotels housing asylum seekers among the targets.
“They’re children,” she said. “It feels hard to think a 14-year-old who has served an eight-month sentence for throwing a stone and been really stupid would carry that conviction on their record for the rest of their life, so I hope that we can think of how they can make reparation but also let these children have a life going forward.”
It comes after a new report from the independent commissioner, published on Tuesday, argued that young people took part in the riots because they “looked fun” - not because they held anti-migrant or racist views.
Dame de Souza told The Times: “Obviously there are some crimes — sexual offences, extreme violence — that are different, but we are looking at short sentences here and young people who were often of really good character and have recognised the wrong they’ve done.
“We wouldn’t want to see their ability to get a job and work and be successful adults blighted.”
But Treasury minister Emma Reynolds shot down the idea, asking: “How can we have a rule of law that is a deterrent if we just wipe people’s criminal records?”
Asked about Dame de Souza’s comments, the government minister told Sky News: “I don’t think that people’s records should be wiped clean. If Southport tells us anything, it’s that we’ve got to look more closely at what’s happening with young people who are obsessed with hatred, who are obsessed with videos or images of violence online.
She added: “We’ve got to be tougher on these things, not softer, in my view.”
The report argues that the over-100 children who were arrested in the riots got involved because “they were curious to see what was happening, thought it looked fun, felt animosity towards the police, or wanted free goods”.
The unrest started after misinformation spread online following Axel Rudakubana’s murder of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 30 July. Social media posts wrongly alleged the attacker was a 17-year-old asylum seeker.
But the children’s commissioner, who interviewed 14 children charged over the riots, found they had joined “to be nosey” or because they wanted to attack the police.
She concluded that while online misinformation and racism “all played a role, they did not drive the children’s actions”.
“Many children described making a split-second decision, their involvement being largely spontaneous and unconsidered, driven by curiosity or the thrill of the moment to see what was going on in their community,” she said.
“Others described a deep distrust of the police and the opportunity to retaliate against a previous interaction.
“What these conversations do not support is the prevailing narrative that emerged from the riots which was subsequently accepted: that online misinformation, racism or other right-wing influences were to blame for why young people were enticed to join in the aggression.”
According to the analysis, 147 children were arrested over the summer riots, with 84 charged. The vast majority were boys aged 14-to-17-years old. Eight percent of the children were aged 10-13.
The commissioner said that many of the children had never been in trouble with the law before, and some had been encouraged by adults to throw things at the police.
But responding to the report, one Labour MP told The Independent that it appeared “far off the mark” and that structural racism should not be discounted as a factor in the riots.
They said: “While the causes of the riots are undoubtedly complex, social media was not the sole cause but acted as a force multiplier for deeper issues such as inequality, political neglect, and mistrust in institutions.
“Ignoring the mainstreaming of racism in media and politics, however, feels like political posturing aimed at reinforcing far-right narratives. The causes may be complex, but they are not beyond analysis—and this report seems far off the mark.”
Meanwhile, Sabby Dhalu, from Stand Up to Racism, said: “We certainly agree that deep distrust of the police and lack of opportunity were drivers in the children’s motivation to get involved in the racist riots. However, it is possible that the findings underestimate the impact of racism and the role of far-right groups on social media on motivating the children involved.
“Many children may have felt ashamed to admit racist views held by themselves or their family.”
