1980 St. Pauls Riot - Aftermath

Aftermath

Nineteen policemen and six other people were taken to hospital, including a cameraman and a photographer from the Western Daily Press; nobody died as a result of the riots. 16 of those arrested were prosecuted for riot, but all were either acquitted, had the charges dropped or were discharged after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Copycat riots in Southmead, a predominately white working class council estate, occurred soon after the St Pauls disturbance.

Later commentators suggested that poverty and the sus laws were more important causes of the riots than race. The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee held a session in Bristol and Home Secretary William Whitelaw came to the city to hold meetings with the local authorities and representatives of the black community. Relations between police and the local community remained tense and reached a low point in 1986 when 600 police raided the Black and White Café again in an action named Operation Delivery. It took intervention by local Member of Parliament William Waldegrave to persuade the police to scale down their policy of containment.

The Black and White Café had long had a reputation as a drug den and was allegedly raided more times by the police than any other premises in the country. In 2003 Bristol City Council used its powers of compulsory purchase and in 2005 the building was demolished and has now been replaced by new homes.

When cabinet papers were released 30 years later, they showed that Home Secretary William Whitelaw had reported that the Chief Constable "accepted that the police had made errors in the initial stages of the incident but subsequent decision to withdraw all officers from the area for several hours had been the only one open to him at the time". Whitelaw said a full public inquiry was undesirable as it would only lead to the police being criticised for no good purpose, and every controversial matter should not lead to such an inquiry.