Leicester riots: Inquiry finds Hindu nationalist ideas and disinformation played role in unrest

Violence between groups of Hindus and Muslims in Leicester in 2022 was driven in part by Hindu nationalist influence and compounded by serious failures of policing and civic leadership, an independent inquiry has found, concluding that the unrest was unprecedented in the UK and preventable.

The findings are set out in Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester, published on Tuesday by the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 2022 Leicester Violence.

The report draws on an extensive investigation led by researchers at SOAS University of London and the London School of Economics, including interviews, community testimony and analysis of digital material.

It finds that serious incidents beginning in May 2022 were not adequately addressed by authorities and later escalated into major violence in August and September, exposing significant failures in policing and civic leadership.

Chaired by international human rights lawyer Professor Juan Mendez, the inquiry describes the unrest as the product of multiple overlapping factors rather than the actions of a single community.

Members of both Hindu and Muslim communities were victims as well as perpetrators, the report says, with violence emerging from targeted attacks, local grievances, economic hardship, social fragmentation and the spread of polarising ideologies.

“The events of 2022 were deeply traumatic for many residents,” Mendez said at the report's launch.

“But we met many people who have high hopes for all communities in Leicester coexisting peacefully. Our report is not about apportioning blame, but about understanding how tensions escalated, why safeguards failed, and how trust can be rebuilt.”

Months of rising tension

The 2022 riots began when nearly 200 Hindu men wearing masks and balaclavas marched through Leicester’s Highfield area chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, which translates from Hindi to “hail Lord Ram” or “victory to Lord Ram”, words that are increasingly appropriated by perpetrators of anti-Muslim violence in India.

Following the march, some Muslims came out onto the streets, leading to scuffles between the two groups.

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According to the inquiry, the violence was preceded by months of growing tension from May 2022 onwards. Local disputes, antisocial behaviour and weak enforcement of regulations created an environment in which mistrust and hostility were able to take root.

Residents interviewed by the inquiry described widespread fear and disruption to daily life during the unrest, including the breakdown of relationships between neighbours. In some areas, people felt unsafe leaving their homes, while others reported intimidation and harassment linked to religious identity.

Social media played a central role in accelerating the crisis, the report finds. Misinformation and so-called “fear messaging” circulated rapidly online, amplifying rumours and stoking hostility between Hindu and Muslim communities.

Institutional responses were found to be inconsistent and inadequate. The inquiry highlights major gaps in intelligence-gathering, communication and visible civic leadership from both Leicestershire Police and Leicester City Council at critical moments.

External influences and communalism

One of the report’s most significant findings is the impact of external political and ideological influences on events in Leicester.

The inquiry points to sustained disinformation campaigns by Hindu nationalist organisations in the UK and India, alongside the actions of political Islamist individuals in the UK, which intensified local tensions and distorted public understanding of the violence.

Hindu nationalist ideas and networks, the report says, were significant in several key events of 2022 and came to dominate wider narratives about what was happening in the city. At the same time, the inquiry stresses that communalism within the South Asian diaspora more broadly has not been sufficiently recognised or addressed by authorities at either local or national level.

"Our report is not about apportioning blame, but about understanding how tensions escalated, why safeguards failed, and how trust can be rebuilt"

- Juan Mendez, chair of the inquiry

The background to the violence, the report adds, also includes deep-rooted economic and social deprivation affecting communities across Leicester, with young people particularly hard hit by lack of opportunity, housing insecurity and cuts to youth services.

Despite the seriousness of the unrest, the inquiry documents numerous acts of solidarity and cross-community support during and after the violence. Community leaders, youth workers and residents worked to de-escalate tensions and protect neighbours, drawing on Leicester’s long history of multicultural coexistence.

However, the report warns that many of these “powerful Leicester voices” calling for peace and unity were ignored by institutions at the time. It argues that rebuilding trust will require these voices to be amplified and supported in a sustained and meaningful way.

“Much depends on how young people work better together,” Mendez said, emphasising the need for long-term investment rather than short-term crisis management.

Recommendations for change

The inquiry sets out a wide-ranging set of recommendations aimed at preventing future violence and strengthening community bonds in Leicester and beyond.

These include targeted investment in youth services, housing, education and community regeneration, as well as a shift towards more community-led and accountable policing with a stronger understanding of communal dynamics.

It also calls for coordinated national and local action to counter misinformation and disinformation, including digital literacy initiatives, and for clear political leadership that rejects communal and sectarian campaigning in favour of a shared civic identity.

A key long-term recommendation is the rebuilding of shared, secular spaces that bring people together across religious lines, led in particular by young people from all communities.

Lessons beyond Leicester

Mendez said the lessons from Leicester are relevant far beyond one city, particularly at a time of mounting economic pressure, the rise of the far right and increasing social media polarisation across the UK.

“The challenge is not one of conflict in one community alone,” he said.

“It is about how towns and cities across Britain can sustain peaceful, secure and convivial relations in the face of powerful forces, including from the far right, that seek to divide.”

This report comes after more than 200 Muslim organisations in Leicester decided not to engage with the government-led inquiry into the unrest, due to deep concerns over the choice of chair and his previous Islamophobic remarks. 

In early 2023, the then communities secretary, Michael Gove, commissioned former Labour MP Ian Austin to chair a government review into the unrest.

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His appointment drew immediate condemnation from Muslim organisations, who cited his longstanding support for the discredited Prevent strategy, his ties to the neoconservative Henry Jackson Society, and his consistent record of dismissing Islamophobia while amplifying anti-Muslim tropes.

Last year, a leaked report produced by the UK Home Office stated that “Hindu nationalist extremism” played a part in the 2022 unrest, identifying it as a proposed target for British counter-extremism efforts for the first time.

Details of the leaked internal review into the British government's counter-extremism strategy were published by Policy Exchange, a right-wing think tank.

The Home Office review called for the scope of counter-extremism work to be widened to cover a range of causes and activities, including Hindutva (Hindu nationalism), extreme misogyny and a fascination with violence.