COMMENTATORS reflected on the 2011 riots - and an open letter to Meghan Markle.

The Guardian

Stephen Reicher said that when riots happen, they are typically explained as an expression of the madness or badness of crowds.

“ Years later, what was blindingly obvious is belatedly acknowledged: the previous riots were actually connected with social issues,” he said. “Rioters had genuine grievances. Government policies played an important part.”

He said the 2011 riots that had started in Tottenham in north London after the police shooting of Mark Duggan were described by then-Prime Minister David Cameron as “criminality pure and simple”.

“The claims surrounding the 2011 riots have since been comprehensively debunked. If most of those arrested during those riots had criminal records, it was because the police concentrated on people already known to them to make arrests.

“When the next riots roll around – as they undoubtedly will – the government will be able to repeat the same pattern: it will say that this time it is different; that the people involved really are just criminals; and that the rioters are entirely to blame.”

The Independent

Former shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said Boris Johnson seems to have learnt nothing from the 2011 riots - ‘which is a little surprising, because he was Mayor of London at the time the riots began in the capital.’

“The response from right-wing politicians and those who had nothing to do with the inner city areas gripped by rioting was to dismiss it all as sheer lawlessness.,” she said. “But attractive as this analysis was to Tory politicians and some voters, there was obviously more to the 2011 riots than just criminality.

Unemployment cuts, and tension between the police and communities all played a part, she said.

“ I remember talking to some young men in Hackney shortly after the riots and asking what was behind the rioting. “It’s the police” they said. “It’s the way that they talk to us.” A world of anger and resentment lay behind those short phrases.”

The Daily Express

Carole Malone wished Meghan Markle a happy 40th birthday.

“I’m wondering if Harry, seeing you sever ties with your family without a backward glance, thought maybe the only way to properly show you love and support was to sever ties with his?,” she wrote.

“You must surely now see that Harry isn’t the man you first met. This estrangement from his family has changed him. He looks morose, angry and bitter and seems consumed by the belief that his family are bad people who hate you.

“Their father will never make the move to reunite with the Windsors without your approval, Meghan. So the greatest present you could offer him today on your birthday would be that blessing.”