The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981. It resulted from racist discrimination against the black community by the mainly white police, especially the police's increased use of stop-and-search in the area, and ongoing tensions resulting from the deaths of 13 black teenagers and young adults in the suspicious New Cross house fire that January. The main riot on 11 April, dubbed "Bloody Saturday" by Time magazine, resulted in 279 injuries to police and 45 injuries to members of the public; over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; almost 150 buildings were damaged, thirty of which were burnt out, and many shops were looted. There were 82 arrests. Reports suggested that up to 5,000 people were involved. The Brixton riot was followed by similar riots in July in many other English cities and towns. The Thatcher government commissioned an inquiry, which resulted in the Scarman Report. Background Brixton in South London was an area with serious social and economic problems. The whole United Kingdom was affected by a recession by 1981, but the local African-Caribbean community was suffering particularly high unemployment, poor housing, and a higher-than-average crime rate. In the preceding months there had been growing unease between the police and the inhabitants of Lambeth, the Borough of London in which Brixton is located. On 18 January 1981, thirteen black youths died in a fire during a house party in New Cross, in the nearby Borough of Lewisham. Although authorities stated that the fire started inside and was accidental, the public believed it was an arson attack and criticised the police investigation as inadequate. Black activists, including Darcus Howe, organised a march for the "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March. Accounts of turnout vary from 5,000 to 20,000 to 25,000. The marchers walked 17 miles from Deptford to Hyde Park, passing the Houses of Parliament and Fleet Street. While the majority of the march finished in Hyde Park without incident, there was some confrontation with police at Blackfriars. According to Professor Les Back, "while the local press reported the march respectfully, the national papers unloaded the full weight of racial stereotyping." The Evening Standards front-page headline had displayed a photo of a policeman with a bloody face juxtaposed with Darcus Howe's quote about the