Sikh social worker to head inquiry into London riots

A well-known Sikh social worker Darra Singh is to head a four-member panel appointed to inquire into the riots that shook London and other British cities earlier this month causing several deaths and damage to property worth millions of pounds.

Bradford-born Darra Singh, currently chief executive of the government employment agency JobCentre Plus , is expected to bring his extensive experience of working with young people to his assignment.

The panel will examine the causes of the seemingly unprovoked violence and recommend measures to prevent such incidents in future.

Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it would be a “grassroots review” of what led to Britain’s worst rioting in nearly three decades.

“We want to know what happened at street level, not from afar and only from the perspective of those affected. Having worked with young people, and on housing and violence issues in a range of cities around the country, including London, Darra will be able to lead the panel and delve into this gloomy chapter of Britain’s history,” he said.

Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has blamed government policies for the riots, said the inquiry must look at “the deeper causes of the criminal behaviour”.

“The temptation for politicians is to reach for simplistic solutions to the issues we face as a society,” he said adding, “That would be a dereliction of duty to the vast majority of law-abiding people in those communities. After going out and understanding the point of view of those on the ground, the task of this commission is to make recommendations which can help tackle the complex causes of what we saw.”

The riots, which were sparked by the death of an Afro-Caribbean youth in a police shoot-out in the north London suburb of Tottenham, quickly spread to other areas London and then to several cities.

The inquiry was announced as an 11-year-old boy became the youngest rioter to be prosecuted. He was given an 18-month youth rehabilitation order for stealing a £50 bin during the recent riots prompting criticism of the sweeping prosecution of young boys and girls for often minor offences.

Children’s charity Barnardo’s said punishing children of this age was “counterproductive”.

“The evidence shows that after a year, half of boys and girls at this age who are sentenced in court will have re-offended and their experience within the criminal justice system increases the likelihood that they will go on to commit further crimes,” said its chief executive Anne Marie Carrie urging the Government to invest in “more effective ways to stop youth crime, such as whole-family approaches like family intervention projects”.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested in connection with riots; and of the 1,000-odd who have been charged 263 are juvenile.