Six teenagers now arrested after mob of unruly London youths run riot

Dan McDonald
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 23:36:56 +0000

Six teenagers have been arrested in the aftermath of the Clapham High Street disorder, which saw hoards of balaclava-clad youngsters running riot through the streets.

Videos circulating on social media showed the unruly teenagers on the rampage through the south London neighbourhood, with business forced to lock down.

Roughly 100 Met Police officers were deployed to the area as the mob attempted to storm shops, start fires and set off fireworks on Clapham Common.

Three girls - one 17-year-old and two 13-year-olds - were initially arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker on Tuesday.

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The 17-year-old was bailed and is due to appear in court later this month, while both 13-year-olds were granted bail.

The Met said three other teenage girls had been arrested on Saturday on suspicion of theft and assault.

The force confirmed there will be more arrests to come over the next few days.

A spokesman for the Met said: "Just because you have not yet been arrested does not mean you will not be.

"Specialist officers are also working to identify those who played a leading or organising role, so that ring leaders and others encouraging this behaviour can be held to account."

They added that police will be taking a "zero-tolerance approach" to future disorder, with additional officers being deployed to the area and dispersal orders in place.

Meanwhile, Detective Chief Superintendent Emma Bond, who leads policing in the area, said parents of the youngsters "also have a role to play".

She said: "I’d appeal to them to take responsibility - to be proactive in knowing where their children are and who they’re with, and to take steps to make sure they’re not involved in this sort of unacceptable antisocial behaviour.”

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Five people - including four officers - were assaulted in the mayhem, the Met said.

One officer was taken to hospital as a precaution after suffering an injury to his arm while making an arrest.

The disorder came as London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan urged British diplomats to challenge "disinformation, misinformation and lies" about the capital being dangerous.

"So when you hear news about London being unsafe, that’s just not true," he added.

On Wednesday, Sir Sadiq branded the scenes in Clapham as "absolutely unacceptable", adding that "those responsible will face the full force of the law".

The disorder has been connected to a concerning online trend known as a "link-up".

The social media fad involves large groups of people posting on social media, urging as many people as possible to descend on a specific location at the same time.

The Met has urged social media companies "to play their part by taking responsibility for content on their platforms that promotes or incites disorder".

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch labelled the chaos as "a total collapse of consequences".

She wrote on social media: "Here, we have created a culture where too many young people believe they can do what they like and nothing will happen. That is the problem.

"And we should be honest about where that leads. If a child loots a shop today, films it for social media, and faces no real consequence, they are going to do much worse tomorrow.

"This is why under my leadership Conservatives are focusing on ENFORCEMENT, not just making more and more rules.

"Our Take Back Our Streets Campaign is about getting 10,000 more police officers, immediate justice and immediate punishment.

"But let’s be honest, this is not just a policing issue. It is a failure of authority at every level."