Welsh Government issue statement on Mayhill violent disorder

The following is a written statement by the Welsh Government:

Mayhill incident DATE 25 May 2021 BY Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice

The violent scenes in Swansea last Thursday were completely unacceptable; violence, disorder and the inevitable risk to life that resulted from such behaviour will not be tolerated anywhere in Wales.

I would like to express my sympathy to those in the Mayhill community who have been most directly affected. I am concerned for those individuals and families that may have felt frightened and unsafe in their own homes as a result of such callous behaviour and am pleased that Swansea Council has offered support and assistance to those families.

Building safe, strong and confident communities has been an ongoing commitment of the Welsh Government and we will continue to work alongside a range of agencies to ensure the Mayhill community receives the support it deserves in recovering from the events of last week.

One clear positive from this terrible event is the extent to which the Mayhill community has come together to reject the behaviour of a minority and to rally round and provide practical support to those who suffered the most.

I wish to thank these kind spirited people both for their concern and for the heart-warming range of practical support they have provided in the immediate aftermath.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank South Wales Police for bringing the challenging situation under control without serious injury to the public. I would also like to extend best wishes to those officers who did sustain minor injuries on the night. I would also like to express my gratitude to Swansea Council and their staff who were able to provide emergency support at the time and in an ongoing way in conjunction with the Police and other partners and who will continue to deliver ongoing support as the community seeks to recover from the impact of this truly horrible and very unusual incident.

This is a situation that requires a locally delivered multi-agency approach and I am pleased to see that this is exactly what the Police and Swansea Council are delivering, providing the community with the help and reassurance it needs at this time.

I know from the ongoing contact with the Police and the Police & Crime Commissioner for South Wales from early on Friday and throughout the weekend that in addition to the arrests made already, further arrests are very likely over the coming days.

I would urge anybody that has evidence of criminal activity linked to the Mayhill disturbances, including video evidence, to come forward urgently and to share what they have with the police.

The Welsh Government will continue to liaise with South Wales Police, Swansea Council and other agencies involved to ensure the community of Mayhill is able to recover as quickly as possible from this shocking incident.