Assault-claim peacemaker appeals for calm

A high-ranking peacemaker today appealed for calm despite claiming he was knocked unconscious by riot police during a tense night of sporadic violence in Burnley.

Shahid Malik, 33, a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee and a resident of the troubled Lancashire town, said he was set upon by officers in full riot gear as he tried to maintain a fragile peace on the streets last night.

But he urged supporters not to retaliate against the police as the town braced itself for a fifth night of tension.

Today, a senior police officer was appointed to investigate the allegations and a member of the Police Complaints Authority was called in to supervise the force’s inquiries.

Mr Malik, a member of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the son of Burnley’s first Asian mayor, says he now intends to sue Lancashire police for assault after claiming he was beaten with a riot shield.

Speaking from the large semi-detached home where he lives with his parents on the outskirts of Burnley, Mr Malik said today he did not want to see any reprisals overnight because of what happened to him.

‘‘I have been saying to everyone that I do not want any retribution. I will use my legal channels to deal with the police.’’

Mr Malik claims he was attacked after going to the Abel Street area of the town, where large groups of Asian youths were beginning to gather shortly after 7.30pm.

When he arrived, he was told that ‘‘some idiot’’ had thrown a rock at the police.

He turned to urge the crowd to stay calm, saying: ‘‘The police are not the target.’’

In an attempt to ease the tension, he then turned to talk to the police, reassuring them there would be no trouble.

‘‘I put my hands up, saying ‘there’s no trouble here, there’s no trouble here’,’’ he said.

‘‘Within seconds, one of the officers has lifted his riot shield, turned it 90 degrees and smashed it into my face.

‘‘I was knocked to the ground. I was saying ‘what are you doing, what are you doing?’. It was a complete shock.

‘‘I stumbled forward. I was hit two or three times more by the same officer. I fell to the ground. I was unconscious for two or three seconds.

‘‘I came to and heard officers staying ‘stop acting, get up.’ I could feel the blood on my face.’’

He was treated for concussion at Burnley General Hospital and received five stitches below his left eye.

Officers at hospital with him then arrested him for public disorder yesterday evening but he was later released to be interviewed at a later date.

Today, Lancashire Police said Detective Superintendent Mike Gradwell of the force’s professional standards department had been appointed to investigate Mr Malik’s allegations.

And although no official complaint has been made by Mr Malik, the force said it had also invited Wendy Towers, a member of the Police Complaints Authority, to supervise the investigation.

But Mr Malik, who was appointed to the CRE around three years ago by the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, has called for an independent inquiry.

His father, Rafique, who is currently the town’s deputy mayor, also refused to condemn the police following last night’s alleged attack on his son.

Mr Malik said he had devoted many of his 25 years on the council to supporting the police and that did not end with the incident in Burnley yesterday.

‘‘I have always believed I should support the police. They are there to help us and maintain law and order.

‘‘Not many people - particularly young Asians - agree,’’ he said.

A total of 22 people were arrested in Burnley overnight, mainly for public disorder offences.

Officers recovered a number of knives, clubs and two crates of petrol bombs.

The most serious incident was the petrol bombing of an Indian restaurant in a village outside the town.

Nobody was hurt in the arson attack on the Agra restaurant in the village of Hapton, police said.

Commenting on the incident in which Mr Malik was injured, Deputy Chief Constable Paul Stephenson said his officers had come under a ‘‘sustained attack’’.

Despite this and a number of other minor incidents early in the evening, the mood in the town calmed and the evening ended with some of the 200 riot police on the streets taking off their protective helmets and allowing youths and children to try them on.

Tension in Burnley had been building since early on Saturday when an Asian taxi driver was the victim of a hammer attack by a gang of white men in the town, which is around 20 miles from Oldham, scene of other recent racial disturbances.

In a joint statement, the Anglican Diocese of Blackburn and the Lancashire Council of Mosques expressed their ‘‘profound concern’’ over the events in Burnley.

It said: ‘‘As Christians and Muslims we condemn all expressions of intolerance, acts of violence against people and to property, that lead to discrimination.’’