Riot-prevention package

Press, 7 August 1981, Page 6

Riot-prevention package

NZPA-Reuter London The British Environment Minister (Mr Michael Heseltine) .has unveiled a package of measures to create work in Liverpool and help ease tension after serious rioting by youths in the city’s rundown inner area last month. The first Liverpool outbreaks were followed bysimilar violence in cities across Britain and the problems behind the disturbances among both blacks and whites in Liverpool are widely considered to be common to all the riot-hit communities. Mr Heseltine. sent by Margaret Thatcher on a 17-day fact-finding mission to Liver-

pool, said his package would create thousands of jobs for local young people. But he made it clear that the riots, which caused millions of dollars worth of damage in Liverpool’s Toxteth area, would not pressure the Government into easing its tight rein on public spending.

“Where new public expenditure is needed this year, it will be found from within the existing total of public expenditure." the Minister told a press conference.

The measures include employment of extra apprentices in house-building, hiring of local people for renovation of derelict residences

and factories, and centres to give workless youths advanced technical training. Many politicians have blamed high youth unemployment as a major cause of the riots. But numerous residents in the Toxteth district, where many of Liverpool’s 20.000 black people live, have alleged that insensitive policing tactics were the immediate cause of six nights of anti-police violence last month.

Last week brought the first death in the disturbances when a young disabled man was ' hit by a police vehicle during rioting. Before that hundreds of

police had been injured and dozens of buildings destroyed. The death led to an inquiry by a senior police officer from north-east England and calls from community groups for the resignation of the local police chief, Kenneth Oxford.

Mr Oxford, has rejected the resignation demands and said his officers supported him.

But he acknowledged there had been some harassment by the police and said this would not be tolerated. He also promised he would bring more police back on foot patrol in response to local people’s requests.