A GROUP of Asians armed with sticks, bottles and swords only wanted to defend their community against racist attack during the Burnley riots, a court heard.
Community leader Shahid Malik, son of former Burnley mayor Rafique Malik, also told Preston Crown Court that a string of attacks by Asians on whites and white-owned premises were carried out by a small group of "idiots."
He said they were not among the majority of the people who gathered in the Abel Street area of Daneshouse on June 24 last year.
Mr Malik was giving evidence in the case of Tariq Saddique, 28, of Azalea Court, Blackburn, who denies a series of violent offences during the riots which rocked Burnley last summer.
Mr Malik, a member of Labour's National Executive, said a group of between 50 and 70 Asians had gathered in a play area in Abel Street on Sunday evening following rumours of racial attacks on Asians from the Friday and Saturday night, including an assault on an Asian taxi driver, which had left him with a fractured skull.
As news filtered through that a group of whites were making their way down Colne Road from the Baltic Fleet pub the Asian group made their way to meet them but were blocked by police.
The court heard that several of the Asians were carrying weapons including sticks, bottles, bricks and even a sword.
David Pickup QC, prosecuting, suggested the Asians were spoiling for a fight with the whites, but Mr Malik denied this saying the group were simply trying to protect their community.
Mr Malik added: "They did not go out to fight they went out to defend themselves. They could easily have pushed through the police but did not, they just wanted to defend their community.
"People were carrying weapons to defend their neighbourhoods."
Mr Malik also said that incidents later in the evening, including an attack on Daneshouse WMC, a white man walking a dog being chased by a group of Asians and a white driver being forced off the road, were carried out by a group of "idiots who damaged community relations", not the majority.
(Proceeding)
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