Hatred of police not racism motivated children in English riots, report finds

Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, said young people were not primarily motivated by “far-right, anti-immigration or racist views” or by online misinformation, contrary to what she called the “prevailing narrative”.

Instead, she said, many were driven by a hatred of police and saw the riots as a chance to retaliate. Others were “driven by curiosity or the thrill of the moment”.