It would be wrong to start any piece about this week's riots, both in Plymouth and beyond without, referencing the tragedy in Southport.  

 Three young girls lost their lives in an unspeakable way - it will take time to reconcile and come to terms with what happened. Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by such an awful tragedy.

 We know first-hand the trauma of such senseless tragedies. This month, Plymouth remembers our own tragic event, the three-year anniversary of a shooting which saw five killed people on our own streets.

 We all need to shout from the hilltops that the majority of people in our country do not harbour the same toxic views as those taking to our streets to cause unrest and damage. 

It is despicable that people used the deaths of these three children to kickstart an unconnected campaign across the country, one fuelled by misinformation spread online.

 For those who don't know Plymouth, we are an unapologetically proud city. We have around 265,000 residents and we're a tolerant and safe place.  So, to find out that we were next on this ignorance-fuelled tour of thuggery travelling round our country, made me very angry.

 When we noticed a couple of tweets on social media promoting planned protests, news quickly spread. To be clear, I am not against people protesting. What is not ok is protests based on lies, mistruths and a deep-rooted hatred towards a specific community.

 With our colleagues in the Local Resilience Forum, our emergency planning arrangements were quickly stood up. Naturally, the Police led this operation and the council played a key role. They were working with very little intelligence, including not knowing the potential size and scale. We needed to prepare for the worst, learning from recent events elsewhere.

 In the 24 hours leading up to the protests, we offered help and reassurance to local community leaders. Our number one priority was that everyone was safe.  We liaised with businesses to make sure that they could make necessary preparations in advance. We deployed additional CCTV cameras and offered our help to secure properties. We removed benches, bins and other items that could be used as missiles.  

 We communicated with the wider public, suggesting that people might want to stay away from the city centre from 4pm. Businesses closed early, the Theatre Royal cancelled their evening performance, buses rerouted.

 With Sally Haydon, the Cabinet member for Community Safety, I sat with council officers near our emergency control centre and watched as the events unfolded.

 Two protest groups faced each other. Initially shouting aggressive insults, it became increasingly tense with the fascist group trying to cross to the other side of the police on the front line.

 Officers were injured by flying objects and there were pockets of physical violence. As night fell, the situation escalated. A bus shelter roof was ripped off, windows smashed, bricks and floor tiles used as weapons, bins lit on fire. At one of our mosques, there were threats – men with bats and rocks. The Muslim community surrounded their place of worship, protecting a building that represents peace, calm, education and faith.

 Then, the skies opened. Rain helped disperse the groups and after a while, the city fell silent.

 At 4am the next morning our street cleansing team whipped into action to clear the streets strewn with debris, rocks, broken glass bottles and small paving stones that had been ripped from the ground. By 8am the city centre was spotless.

 While I know that there were local people attending the protests – which is concerning - I am incredibly angry that so many people from outside our city felt emboldened to come here and cause violent disorder and unrest.

 The council is now leading a recovery programme. We need to support our businesses, a number of shops were damaged and their windows were smashed. And perhaps my top priority: rebuilding confidence and providing robust reassurance that our city centre remains a safe place for all.

 One area we are focusing on is community cohesion. My colleague was approached by a young Muslim boy whose eyes teared up as he asked why people ‘hate him so much'. We visited one of our mosques to reassure the Imam and his community that the views of small-minded protestors do not reflect the views of our city. We will continue to engage with our Muslim community to reiterate how much they are valued and an integral part of Plymouth.

 But, how do we, as local authorities, combat this?

·         Need a clear understanding of who was involved – we know that some people came from afar to protest, others came to ‘watch', but we know that there were local people who actively participated. As community leaders, we need a better understanding of this to facilitate cohesive communities.

·         Correct myth and conjecture quickly – be quick to correct lies spreading online. For example, there were rumours that one of our local hotels was home to hundreds of refugees. Not true.

·         Demand that social media companies take responsibility for the lies and misinformation being peddled on their platforms. We all continue to talk about this – now we need action.

·         Continue to celebrate and recognise the role of all our diverse communities – we are working hard to create an ethos of a ‘welcoming city' with inclusive environments and through our schools, work with young people to help them understand different faiths and backgrounds.  

·         Make it easy to report hate crime – continue to work with the Police and other partners to emphasise that hate crime is not ok. We all have a duty to report, support victims and ensure that perpetrators are dealt with.

 Most importantly, we all need to shout from the hilltops that the majority of people in our country do not harbour the same toxic views as those taking to our streets to cause unrest and damage. 

Cllr Jemima Laing, Deputy Leader of Plymouth City Council

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