'Adrenaline of the moment' drove children to take part in summer riots, says commissioner

Children joined last summer’s riots driven by the "adrenaline of the moment," rather than far-right ideology or social media misinformation, the Children's Commissioner for England has said.

Dame Rachel de Souza shared her insights from interviews with 147 young people in prisons and hospitals, where she directly asked why they had participated in the unrest.

Highlighting one case of a boy studying electrical engineering at college, she told BBC Breakfast today (28 January): “They were just in the area. They certainly hadn’t seen anything online.

"He didn't like the police. So he decided to throw something.”