Leeds city council has launched an “urgent review” of its handling of a child care case after it sparked a night of rioting in the city.

The Harehills area of the Yorkshire city descended into violence on Thursday night with police cars and a bus torched by a lawless mob.

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, said those responsible for the disorder should feel the “full force of the law” for what she described as “audacious criminality”.

After a tense Friday night where a vigil was held by members of the Romanian and Roma community chanting “please bring the kids back”, the council has called for calm and announced a review of its handling of the “family matter”.

It comes as the parents of the children announced they are going on hunger strike until their four children are returned.

In a statement, Leeds city council said: “The council has agreed to undertake an urgent review of the case and work with Romanian and Roma led organisations, the churches, and the Honorary Consulate of Romania and other family representatives for the best interests of the family and wider Roma community.”

The local authority urged “all communities to remain calm” to try to prevent a repeat of Thursday night’s disturbances that culminated in five arrests on Friday.

“Local people are devastated by what happened, and we want to ensure there is no repeat of the distressing scenes we saw. Such actions will have a long lasting and harmful impact on our community,” the statement continues.

“The Romanian and Roma community have played a fantastic role in the community and have contributed much to the diversity and richness of the Harehills. We want this work to continue, and develop further work that makes Harehills an even better place to work and live.”

The move follows meetings with members of the Romanian and Roma community who claim the authorities had shown “systemic racism and discrimination” when handling the case regarding a family from their community.

On Thursday evening police were called to a home in Harehills after social services encountered difficulties handling a care issue surrounding Romanian and Roma children. Officers were filmed on social media removing children from the home as crowds gathered.

Police said officers were called “after social workers reported being met with hostility when dealing with a child protection matter”.

Officers soon came under attack forcing them to retreat as they became the target of hundreds of people.

West Yorkshire Police is analysing footage of the violence, much of it posted on social media, and has said further arrests will follow in the coming days.

Asst Chief Constable Pat Twigg said on Friday: “The major enquiry team have launched an investigation which will include reviewing CCTV and social media footage and images to identify the perpetrators.

“We will leave no stone unturned in our hunt for all those who were involved and will work closely with our criminal justice partners to bring them to justice.”

Newly unearthed video shows Strictly Come Dancing star Brendan Cole slapping his celebrity partner’s bottom during training and saying she was “pathetic”.

The edited montage, which was broadcast in 2005 on Strictly’s twin show It Takes Two, shows Cole’s partner Fiona Phillips, the former GMTV presenter, saying he “looked at me like I was something he’d stepped in”.

In a clip from the show introducing the historic training footage, which was light and playful in parts as well as dramatic in others, host Claudia Winkleman said: “The anger emanating from Brendan Cole is quite scary”, prompting a grin from Phillips.

Phillips said in the video: “I don’t think I was prepared for the physical closeness”, before clips of Cole slapping her on the bottom on three separate occasions were played.

In a separate moment, Phillips asked Cole to “stop shouting”, adding: “I just feel ridiculous… I don’t feel like doing it now you’ve said that,” after the professional dancer and veteran of 15 Strictly series called her “pathetic”.

Elsewhere, in a backstage clip from the show, Cole can be seen launching into a profanity-laden tirade at cameramen, saying: “Guys, get the f— out of my face for “f— sake,” before appearing to push a camera away.

Speaking in 2017, Phillips said “Brendan was a real bugger”, and that “he wasn’t very nice. He was really naughty”. She said it was “karma” when his contract was not renewed.

The footage also shows James Jordan, a professional dancer on Strictly from 2006 to 2013, telling his Casualty actress partner, Georgina Bouzova, that he would “kill her” and “drag her across the floor” if she forgot her moves.

In separate footage uncovered by The Times, Jordan can be seen telling a dance partner, “you’re the laziest person I’ve ever met in my life” and kicking a chair into a wall.

Jordan has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the footage was edited “for the purposes of entertainment”.

He wrote on Instagram: “I just wanted to reassure you that footage was shot and edited together by the BBC team for transmission on It Takes Two 18 years ago in specific ways for the purposes of entertainment.

“Many of the clips were not related to Georgina at all (they are not allowed to do that these days as it misrepresents what actually happened) but were included for the purpose of exaggeration.

“The BBC thought it would be fun to put this VT together in the way they did. You can see Georgina laughing about it in the studio and in the clips… And I have never received any complaints from any of my celebrity dance partners in the eight years I was on the show.”

He said: “Obviously if I had genuinely upset anyone, that footage would never have been allowed to be used in that way by the BBC themselves. The producers loved to paint me as the bad guy and I played along…always a perfectionist …but I would never have deliberately upset anyone and pride myself on good friendships with my celebrity dance partners.

“I strongly suggest that nobody attempts to link this edited BBC VT with the current alleged reports of abusive behaviour taking place behind the scenes by other Strictly professionals.

“There is no comparison to be drawn between those awful allegations and the highly produced and exaggerated VT from the BBC archives that is featuring on social media. To be clear, I deplore bullying or abusiveness in the workplace.”

Cole has been approached for comment.

It comes as the BBC grapples with a crisis over Strictly’s future following a slew of allegations about bullying and even physical violence doled out by the show’s professional dancers.

‘Crossed the line’

Last week, Graziano Di Prima quit the show after a video of him kicking his dance partner television presenter Zara McDermott was shown to BBC bosses.

A spokesman for Di Prima admitted he “crossed the line” in the 2023 incident but has been left in “a very vulnerable state” by the fall-out.

Di Prima’s exit followed that of Giovanni Pernice, who is under investigation by the BBC over his alleged behaviour towards Amanda Abbington, his partner last year. He has branded the claims against him as “false” and vowed to clear his name.

When approached for comment, the BBC directed The Telegraph to a statement from Kate Phillips, BBC’s director of unscripted, which says: “Whilst we know our shows have been positive experiences for the vast majority of those who have taken part, if issues are raised with us, or we’re made aware of inappropriate behaviour, we will always take that seriously and act.

“Concerns that have arisen have been fundamentally related to training and rehearsals.

“The decisive steps we have taken and are announced today, act to further strengthen the welfare and support in place for everyone involved with this production.”

A new MP who became pregnant at 15 has revealed she was “groomed” by an older man.

Labour backbencher Natalie Fleet said she now wanted to be a voice for “all those women that have children in far from ideal circumstances”.

Speaking during an interview with Gloria De Piero for GB News, to be broadcast on Sunday, the MP said her family had been “struggling” when she was growing up, at one stage finding themselves homeless, before she gave birth to her daughter “at a very young age”.

She said: “At the time, when I was 15, I felt full of shame and guilt and responsibility.

“And all I was determined to do was make sure that she [the baby] had a life that was as good as she would have had to any age parent. That was what I was determined to do, I didn’t think about me or the impact.”

However, with her daughter now 23 and “the absolute love of my life”, Ms Fleet said she could look back and think “that wasn’t okay”.

She added: “That was an older man. That was potentially, I mean now we have labels like grooming that we didn’t have then.

“I didn’t know we were having unprotected sex. I was a child and this is statutory rape. You know, at the time this isn’t something that we were talking about. It’s not how I saw myself.”

‘Lack of support’

When she came to tell her daughter about what happened, Ms Fleet said she had been surprised that she could not find any advice for women in her situation.

She said: “There was nothing. There’s no acknowledgement that it happens in the UK.

“And the more research I’ve done, I’ve found that there are over 3,000 conceptions every year from rape, but there’s no charity to support these women.”

Ms Fleet is now a mother of four and was elected earlier this month in the seat of Bolsover, Derbyshire, which had been represented for decades by Labour’s Dennis Skinner before being won by the Conservatives in 2019.

As an MP, she said she wanted to use her platform to talk more about women in her situation “and do something about it”.

She said: “I really want to be a voice for all of those people, all of those women that have children in far from ideal circumstances.”

Labour ‘changed my life’

Adding that her childhood experiences still had a “massive impact” on her, including “weekly nightmares”, she said she was still “so excited about what the next Labour Government is going to do”.

She said: “We’re going to make sure that we’re smashing down barriers to opportunity so that there can be more stories like mine.

“I am a product of the last Labour government. It wasn’t a perfect government, but it changed my life and it was transformational.

“And that’s the reason that it’s worth doing a job where you can’t go to the shop in your pyjamas anymore, but where you still have a panic alarm in your bag, your own children are potentially at risk, that’s really awful.

“But when it means that you can make other children’s lives, who aren’t as fortunate, better, that’s incredible.”

The interview with Ms Fleet is expected to be broadcast on GB News between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday.

Hundreds of displaced airport passengers have descended on the Port of Dover in a bid to try to bypass the chaos caused by the global computer outage.

Authorities warned people not to turn up to the port without a booking on Saturday as thousands of families battle to get to Europe at the start of the summer holidays.

Around 200,000 people are set to be hit by delays and cancellations caused by the IT meltdown on Friday, which was triggered by a faulty update to a widely used piece of cyber security software. Many travel insurers are refusing to pay to rearrange holidays.

NHS services, train services, cash machines and contactless payments were also taken offline, with 999 services facing long delays after GP surgeries were unable to make appointments.

Airports have said their systems are working again after global IT outages caused problems, but journeys could still be affected by cancellations and delays.

That has led many to head to the Channel port in the hope of getting across to the continent.

But the Port of Dover has warned that although it is processing traffic well, passengers were already waiting 60 minutes to get through border controls on Saturday morning.

The worldwide IT outage was caused by a glitch in cyber security software made by CrowdStrike, a US company, which caused millions of computers running Microsoft’s Windows to crash suddenly on Friday morning.

It resulted in a so-called “blue screen of death”, sending the computers into recovery mode.

On Saturday morning, P&O Ferries warned of high traffic volumes causing congestion on the roads leading to the port.

They advised passengers to allow extra time when travelling and to bring refreshments.

Irish Ferries also told passengers to allow sufficient time to complete border controls and check-in.

DFDS warned on X, formerly Twitter, of waiting times of up to 120 minutes at border controls and 30 minutes at check-in, with passengers told by Dover to ensure they had good provisions, including water, food and prescription medication.

At Dover Operation Brock, the traffic-holding system for lorries queuing to cross the English Channel, was put in place on the M20 towards the port.

Travel association Abta urged holidaymakers to check with providers if there were any extra steps they may need to take.

A spokesman said: “We’re at the start of one of the busiest periods of travel, with some schools finishing for the summer yesterday and many more next week.

“Many people will be jetting off abroad – looking to escape the UK’s unseasonable weather of late.

“With Spain, Turkey and Greece among the popular destinations for an overseas trip.

“If you are heading off on holiday this weekend – by whatever means – it’s advisable to check with your travel provider if there are any extra steps you need to take, as some businesses are continuing to feel the impact of Friday’s IT outage.”

Eurotunnel warned of around 30-minute delays to booked times at Folkestone terminal on Saturday morning.

Experts said the chaos witnessed after the outage should come as a warning that societies needed to prepare for more instances of widespread IT meltdown in the future.

Professor Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, warned that countries would “have to learn to cope” with future flaws.

He said: “The worst of this is over because the nature of the crisis was such that it went very badly wrong, very quickly. It was spotted quite quickly, and essentially, it was turned off.”

Prof Martin told Sky News: “Until governments and the industry get together and work out how to design out some of these flaws, I’m afraid we are likely to see more of these again.

“Within countries like the UK and elsewhere in Europe, you can try and build up that national resilience to cope with this. But ultimately, a lot of this is going to be determined in the US.

“If there’s going to be regulation to try and iron out these flaws, it’ll probably have to come from the US and there’s not a great deal that we can do about that.

“So unless and until the structure of the way we do tech changes, we’re going to have to learn to cope with these things, rather than eliminate them.”

One computer scientist has said people need to draw similar lessons from the global IT outage as they did from the pandemic.

Sir Nigel Shadbolt told the BBC’s Today programme: “Often these issues are left (to) technological elites.

“This impacts everyone and we need to understand how those effects ripple through society and think about how we all make ourselves more resilient.”

He added: “The resilience in general of these systems is something very special. We depend on these systems and by and large they are working to very high levels of quality.

“But when they do go wrong, and it’s like a pandemic, literally we should draw similar lessons, what lessons do we draw?

“As individuals, what should we be thinking? We should be thinking about a degree of resilience in our own lives. We should think about having perhaps multiple systems, not depending just on one.”

Border Force officials have intercepted a suspected stolen yacht as migrants continue to cross the Channel in small boats.

The Border Force vessel Hurricane was seen towing a single-masted yacht into Dover on Saturday before securing it in the harbour.

The sighting was unusual, given that migrants tend to attempt to cross the Channel in small dinghies.

The border force vessel also brought an unknown number of migrants into Dover, on a day when those attempting the crossing were believed to number in the low hundreds.

Some 1,157 people have been rescued from the Channel since Monday after setting out in small boats, while two have died making the crossing in the same period.

Another four people died in the Channel in the previous week, when a spell of good weather increased the number of crossings.

Blue tag

The sequestered yacht was marked by Border Force officials with a blue tag, of the sort usually applied to small migrant boats seized during attempts to cross the Channel.

In this case the tag appeared to read “M308”.

The yacht, which has no visible name or original identifying marks, appeared to be in good condition and may have simply been stolen at one of the many marinas dotted around Calais harbour.

Home Office officials refused to comment further.

It is understood the Border Force vessel Hurricane came along the yacht at around 7am on Saturday after spotting it at around half way across the Channel.

A number of broken tow ropes seen hanging from the yacht suggested it had been stolen.

The 25ft boat appeared to have room for half a dozen passengers, though the Home Office would not release details of how many migrants were on board.

More crossings

Home Office figures show 413 crossed the Channel in seven small boats on Friday, bringing the total for the year so far to 15,489.

This is about 10 per cent higher than the number of crossings seen by the same time last year and 0.1 per cent more than the number for the same period in 2022, the year with the most crossings on record.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We all want to see an end to dangerous small boat crossings, which are undermining border security and putting lives at risk.

“The new Government is taking steps to boost our border security, setting up a new border security command which will bring together our intelligence and enforcement agencies, equipped with new counter-terror-style powers and hundreds of personnel stationed in the UK and overseas, to smash the criminal smuggling gangs making millions in profit.”

Police have arrested a prisoner who sparked a manhunt after escaping while on a hospital visit.

A search was launched after Graham Gomm, 63, escaped from prison staff on Thursday.

Gomm, who has been on remand at HMP Wormwood Scrubs for burglary offences, was taken to Hammersmith hospital by prison officers, but was found to have absconded at around 1.18am.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Saturday that he had been arrested in Putney at around 8.30am and returned to prison.

A spokesman confirmed an investigation would continue into how Gomm escaped lawful custody.

This is breaking news, more to follow