Remembering the Brixton riots 40 years on – podcast

On the Saturday night petrol bombs began flying through the air. Rumours had spread around Brixton, in south London, of police mistreatment of a local black man. Soon it was a full-scale riot and by the time it was over almost 300 police officers and 60 civilians had been injured in the unrest that ensued.

The Guardian’s community affairs correspondent, Aamna Modhin, tells Anushka Asthana that for many who were there these were not riots but an uprising. Among those Modhin spoke to were Ros Griffiths and Alex Wheatle, who were teenagers living in Brixton at the time.

Now, 40 years on, there are parallels to the Conservative government’s presiding over an unemployment crisis and enduring tensions between the community and police.

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