The Welsh first minister has accused the UK government of creating the poor social conditions that formed the backdrop to the Cardiff riots by systematically destroying community life, public services and citizens’ incomes.
Mark Drakeford, who represents the Ely area where riots broke out on Monday night after the deaths of two teenage boys, said public services and people’s living standards had declined there within 13 years of Conservative rule.
The first minister was a young justice worker in Ely when the bread riots took place in 1991, and he said there were parallels between the two events. “It’s been 13 years of erosion, the systematic erosion, of the things that sustain the life of the community,” he said. “You destroy the social fabric at your peril, and we saw what happened on Monday.”
Drakeford, who met community leaders in Ely on Friday, said he accepted the Labour-led Welsh government and Cardiff council had questions to answer about how they would support the area. He explained that he believed that the police may have made a mistake in their handling of the riots.
The trouble followed the death of Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and Harvey Evans, 15, after the electric bike they were riding was followed by a police van. The vehicles caught fire and 15 policemen were injured, 12 of which required medical treatment.
On Friday night around a thousand people gathered for a vigil at the place where the teenagers died. Mourners holding blue balloons and white T-shirts gathered around floral tributes and messages, with dozens of blue and orange flares lit.
Hundreds of blue balloons filled the sky in honor of the teenagers and some fireworks were set off. Many people cried when the balloons were released and a moment of silence was held before the crowd erupted into applause.
Family members present revealed that the electric bike the two teenagers were riding was an early 16th birthday gift.
Harvey’s aunt, Hayley Murphy, told the BBC that he loves e-bikes and scooters, and the gift was bought for his birthday next month.
“His father used to take him off-road mountain biking every week since he was three years old,” he said.
At first the South Wales police and crime commissioner, Alun Michael, said Monday’s riots were sparked by false rumors that police were chasing someone.
It was only after the Guardian and other media organizations found CCTV footage showing the boys being followed that the police admitted it had happened, but they still refused to apologise. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the actions of the police in South Wales.
Drakeford told the Guardian that what happened was “deeply, deeply distressing”. “First of all, and most of all, of course, for those young men who lost their lives and for their families, and their friends. It is hard to imagine what they will experience.
“But I also feel very sad for the wider community of Ely, which is full of perfectly decent hard-working people, who want nothing more than to get on with their lives in peace. And for them the damage the reputation that has been made in the area through these types of events, it is a great weight on their shoulders.
He added, however, that the rioters must be held accountable. “There are people whose own behavior is indefensible,” he said. “They need to be held to account for this and there may have been some failures in the evening service – we will know that once the independent investigation has been completed.”
Asked if his government should be doing more for Ely, he said: “I think all levels of government and all aspects of government are right to look at themselves in the mirror and ask exact question. So we will do that as a Welsh government.”
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Before entering politics, Drakeford worked as a probation officer, youth justice worker and Barnardo’s project leader in the Ely and Caerau areas, west of the city centre. He was working in that area when the Ely bread riots happened in 1991, the riot is said to have started with an argument between two shopkeepers.
“I know it takes years to recover from these types of events,” Drakeford said. “Basically, I think the difficulties of 1991 happened 13 years into a Conservative government and here we are, as coincidentally as anything else, 13 years into a Conservative government again.
“What is common among them is that this is 13 years of erosion, the systematic erosion of the things that sustain the life of the community.
“Many people in Ely rely on social security benefits for their weekly income. They have been systematically destroyed over the last 13 years. People are getting less and less to live on and they are seeing their bills go up every day. The struggle is not theoretical for people, it is something that is important and bites into their lives every day of the week.
“And the public services that are there to try to help them all have 13 years of budgets being cut every year as well. So I don’t think you understand what’s going on in Ely if you don’t understand that which is the basic background factor.
In an update on Friday, the IOPC said it was reviewing the initial accounts of police officers following the boys and one of its goals was to determine whether they pursued the couple.
It says it is investigating:
The nature of the police interaction with the two boys prior to the collision and the appropriateness of the officers’ decisions and actions.
If at any time the decisions and actions of police car officers become a pursuit.
If the interaction between the officers and the men was accurately reported by the officers before and after the collision.
Whether the actions and decisions of South Wales police regarding the interaction are in accordance with the law, local and national policies and procedures.
The IOPC’s director for Wales, David Ford, said: “We would welcome anyone we haven’t spoken to, who believe they have footage or witnessed anything relevant between 5.35pm and 6.10pm on Monday, to come to us.”
