A LEADING Harrow councillor has heaped praise on police for their handling of last week's riot outside Harrow Central Mosque.

Councillor Susan Hall, deputy leader of Harrow Council, said residents of Harrow are “completely indebted” to the police for the way Friday's events were handled.

She said: “I can't have enough praise for them, they were courteous and calm despite being pelted with bottle and stones. They couldn't have handled it better.

“Police were just there, not kettling anyone, not doing anything confrontational. It was a highly combustible situation and we are completely indebted to them.”

Cllr Hall, who was instrumental in planning for the day alongside police, stood on the front line with officers as they were confronted by hoards of angry young Asian men hurling abusive and pelting them with missiles.

She condemned the violence, but insisted the troublemakers were not part of the Harrow community.

She said: “These hooligans were not Harrow people, they were just outsiders on the lookout for a fight.

“It was mostly people under the age of 30 and you could see when they started gowning up with masks over their faces.

“I think those few far-right protesters who ventured further afield than Harrow and Wealdstone Station directly owe their good health to the police cordon which shielded them from the baying mob.”

In the aftermath of the violence on Friday, which marred an earlier show of unity and solidarity for the mosque in the face of a protest from a group called Stop the Islamisation of Europe, Cllr Hall called on the government to look at rules governing extremist protests.

She said: “The Government has to look at the whole way it allows certain demonstrations.

“We had extremists from both sides trying to come here and fight against something.

"People should be allowed to demonstrate, but some of these kids were just looking for a fight, and I think the Government should step in.”