KB-2023-003636 - [2025] EWHC 2043 (KB)

There is extensive evidence about the troubles in Leicester in the summer of 2022. It is clear that there were two opposing groups. One group is consistently described as a group of Muslim men. The other (and subject to the question of the Hindutva) is generally described as a group of Hindu men. I adopt that language, without intending any disrespect, and whilst recognising that there is some evidence that the former group also contained Sikh men, that there is a contested issue about the composition of the second group, that the composition of each group was not static, and that, anyway, it is impossible to know whether every member of a group shown on a video clip shares the same religious faith.

In May 2022, a group of Hindu men attacked a young Muslim man on a street in Leicester.

On 18 August 2022, the claimant made a video in which he spoke about extreme right wing animosity towards Islam. He mentioned the Hindutva. He said that Muslim gangster communities would deal with those who desecrated sacred Muslim symbols, and that whilst he was not “condoning” this, it was “a reality”.

On 28 August 2022, India won a cricket match against Pakistan. Fans of India in Leicester celebrated the victory. There was violent disorder, and eight people were arrested. There were allegations on social media that there had been chants, in Hindi, of “death to Pakistan” and “death to Muslims”.

On 29 August 2022, CVB tweeted:

“Someone in Leicester must know who these Hindutva cowards are. They attacked a few people and were chanting against Pakistan on the Melton Road. We all know that they were really chanting against Muslims. These scum need to be caught and justice needs to be served! #Leicester #Hindutva.”

On 1 September 2022, Leicester Police said that there was no evidence that there had been chanting of “death to Muslims”.

There are reports that in early September 2022 eggs were thrown at the homes of Hindu families in Leicester.

On 4 September 2022, Pakistan beat India in another cricket match. There was further disorder in Leicester involving gangs of masked men.

On 5 September 2022, a young Muslim man was attacked in Leicester by a large group of Hindu men. There was extensive social media discussion of the incident. CVB was critical of the (lack of) police response.

On 9 September 2022, CVB tweeted about an alleged assault of a “Muslim lad” by “2 Hindu guys”, saying “he managed to beat them both up & escape. STAY ALERT.” In reply, someone said, “Stop spreading lies and rumours!” and asked the police to “stop this guy from spreading unnecessary rumours without quoting sources and valid information he will inflame tensions.” In reply, Leicestershire Police said, “we urge people to only share information they know to be true and avoid speculation.”

On 11 September 2022, a video was published of an Imam interviewing his nephew who is a traffic warden and who said he was attacked by Hindus in a car when he tried to give them a parking ticket. This was widely shared. On 30 September 2022, the police said that the report was false.

A further story that emerged at about the same time was that three Hindu men had kidnapped a Muslim girl. There was extensive social media reporting of the story. It was also covered in the local newspaper and a national newspaper. CVB tweeted:

“CONFIRMED: An incident took place this morning not far from a college in #Leicester. A Muslim teenager was approached by 3 men, but she ran away into the school. The college & the police are aware of it and the family have been given an incident number by @LeicsPolice.

…

I met the family and the girl this evening. The girl is very shaken, but she is ok alhamdulillah. They’ve reported the incident to the police. Hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of this and the people behind it are caught.”

The police subsequently stated that the reporting was entirely false and that no offence had been committed. They warned about the consequences of sharing information on social media.

By 16 September 2022, groups of Muslims and Hindus were arranging to congregate in Leicester. A narrative promulgated by a Muslim group was “We going to Land in Lesta Show these RSS Hindutva extremist not to mess with our Muslim and Sikh – women, children and elderly. Bring peace back to the area!...” A Hindu group was also organising a march “to protect our family and worship places. Together we can bring peace.”

On the evening of 17 September 2022, large groups of Muslim and Hindu men had to be kept apart by police cordons. Glass bottles were thrown by both sides. There was serious violence. Some police officers sustained significant injuries.

At 1.59am on 18 September 2022, CVB tweeted:

“These Hindutva thugs marched through the streets of Leicester with weapons including knifes. They had 6 police officers trying to control 200+ of them at one point. What a shambles considering tensions been so high. Why weren’t they searched? They stabbed a lot of Muslims tonight.”