Two more men handed jail sentences over Harehills rioting

20 people have now been convicted over clashes in the north Leeds suburb last summer.

Giovanni Badarau (l) and Christopher Bairstow (r)
Author: Matt SoanesPublished 20th Jun 2025

Two more men have been jailed following the rioting last summer in Harehills, Leeds.

Crowds clashed with police, with missiles being thrown and a bus being torched during a night of violence on July 18 and 19.

31 year old Christopher Bairstow of Ganners Mount and Giovani Badarau of Bexley Terrace were both handed 20 month sentences for violent disorder, with Badarau also sentenced for attempted arson.

It takes the total number of people convicted over the violence up to 20.

Chief Superintendent Steve Dodds, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “Every one of these convictions takes us one step further to delivering justice to residents in Harehills and I can promise there is much more to come.

“We have more cases in the court system and continue to work through this very large scale investigation to uncover and properly punish those responsible for the disgraceful scenes we saw.”

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.