Racism? Poverty, drink and social media? We still don’t know why Britons rioted a month ago – and we need answers | Tim Newburn

After all that violence, we face the choice that confronted Cameron and Thatcher: to seek real explanations or move blindly forward

It is just over a month since the first riots broke out in Southport – seemingly provoked by rumours containing false information about the alleged identity of the attacker who killed three children and injured eight others, as well as two adults, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

Five further days of disorder followed in a number of English towns and cities and in Northern Ireland – with the rioters apparently taking their lead from what happened in Southport. Violence was aimed at immigrants, at mosques, at Asian-owned businesses and at hotels and other locations where immigrants were thought to be housed.

Tim Newburn is professor of criminology and social policy at the London School of Economics

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