Riots: The Aftershock

This programme contains some strong language

When last year's riots took place,

we were all left with questions about what they meant.

Why are you stealing everything?

Millions of pounds of damage was done to cities across the country.

For four summer nights, the rule of law was at breaking point.

RIOTERS SHOUT

Five people died and thousands of businesses and homes were lost.

I felt shame and anger as I watched the rioters -

mostly from my generation - create anarchy.

People wanted to see them caught and punished

and brought to justice.

Police!

And that's what happened.

Justice will be done and these people will see the consequences

of their actions.

But what happened next?

Nearly a year on, I wanted to know who the rioters really were.

Why they did it, where they lived, and who their families were, too.

In this film, we spend nine months

with the people arrested during the riots,

as they go through the justice system,

with the victims of the events of those nights,

and with the perpetrators trying to rebuild their lives

with the stigma of being a rioter...

< You leave my keys.

How am I supposed to leave your keys when I've got my stuff to take.

I wanted to be gone before you woke up!

..to find out what happened after the riots.

SIREN BLARES

We're on one of the busiest streets in east London.

I remember coming down here

the nights that the riots came near to where I live,

which is just 20 minutes down the road.

It was deadly quiet, shops were being boarded up

and I was following Twitter, telling me really scary things.

My friends were texting me,

saying that things were kicking off outside their house,

cars being smashed up -

20 minutes away, a riot was coming.

It made me feel really scared, really angsty

and you just felt like,

"Are things going to tip over the edge, where I live?"

That sense of fear on those nights was really strong

right across the country.

Thousands were arrested and their sentences harsh.

As a society, we came down on the rioters as hard as we could.

Lorriane McGrane was 19 when the riots happened.

On 8th August in Peckham, in south London,

she was part of a mob,

some of whom smashed in the windows of a local store,

like in this footage from elsewhere on those nights.

She stole a flat-screen TV

and was arrested as she tried to bring the TV home.

She received a 14-month prison sentence.

She'd never been in trouble before

and had been a part-time Royal Engineer in the Territorial Army -

she was planning a career in the armed services.

She lived in Peckham, in a cramped one-bedroom house

with her father Paul -

a night bus driver in London for over 40 years.

That's from when she was going to school.

I've got her uniforms and all upstairs.

The night before I went to work, I told her,

"They're rioting on the streets.

"DO NOT go out, DO NOT run out. Stay in the house."

But she didn't.

After serving four months of her 14-month sentence,

she is being released today on tag to her father's address.

For the next few weeks he'll have to make sure

Lorriane abides by the rules of her home detention curfew.

I was up since five o'clock this morning -

bathed, booted, suited - groomed myself up for the big day

for to getting me wee lost sheep.

That's what I call her.

All right, Lorriane? How are you, darling?

-I'm very good.

-You all right?

-Yep.

-Yeah?

-Freedom! freedom!

-Yep.

-Freedom.

-Yeah.

-Eh?

-About time.

Basically, I've got my tag today

and a supervision commencing order, which starts today.

If I breach either one of them, I'll be back in Holloway

until...8th August next year.

-We won't let that happen.

-No.

I can't even be a minute late.

Don't you worry.

Your daddy'll look after you now. Don't worry.

20-year-old Reece James was one of dozens of people

who ran amok in Argos in Catford, in south London.

He's seen here being arrested as he tried to escape

after he stole a stereo.

RIOTERS SHOUT

Reece was sentenced to 14 months in prison for burglary.

He had never been in trouble with the police before the riots.

Previously, he was a dance teacher working with local kids

and only last year, reached the semifinal of Britain's Got Talent.

His mum Fiona was so outraged by his sentence

that she started a Facebook campaign to raise awareness

about the harsh treatment by the courts of the rioters.

The campaign has got lots of press, even featuring on the local news.

He didn't do anything evil.

He didn't do anything towards someone else.

He didn't beat someone up half-dead. You know...

-Come on!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, man!

-Oh!

Today, mum Fiona and Reece's friend Kayla

have come to get him out of Rochester prison

after four months inside.

Oh, God! I'm so happy for this day.

I've been waiting for this day.

In prison, Reece had joined his mum's campaign,

sharing his views about why the riots happened.

You said you were remorseful for going into Argos.

Yeah, I'm sorry for that.

Yeah, but not for the rioting... No, not for the cause, if you like.

I'm sorry for taking part in the stealing,

but I'm not sorry for taking part in what it stood for.

Most of the people that got caught and got sent down are opportunists.

There's people in my situation, people that were going to uni,

and they slipped up, got caught up in it.

They got mad sentences, like...

I remember telling you, there's a youth in there for 20 months

and he stole Doritos and a packet of cigarettes.

Doritos! Crisps.

Hey, man. What you saying?

This needs to come off. D'you know what I was in prison for? Riots.

For Reece, the riots were the direct result

of the police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham,

which unleashed simmering resentment

about police treatment of young black people.

We want justice. When do we want it? Now!

It was a demonstration in response to Duggan's death in Tottenham

that sparked the riots.

These riots...

they started in the beginning, cos of what happened in Tottenham,

and there was an injustice there.

So I am sorry for getting involved in robbing the shop

and going all out like that...

That was unnecessary. I didn't need to do that.

But...I'm not sorry for taking part in what it stood for.

Lorriane is settling back into life at her dad's.

I don't like that beeping.

Good morning. I'm trying to get...

One of the first things she does...

is get back in contact with her old employers at the Territorial Army.

I used to be in the TA.

I went to prison recently

and I was told to phone and get a 001 form about my payment.

It's Lorriane.

All right, then.

All right. Thank you. Bye.

Damn it! Oh, well.

It feels a bit weird. She goes, "I forgot your name."

How could you forget my name?

I'm probably one of the people

that has done one of the worst things ever.

Lorriane was immediately discharged from the Army on her arrest.

The career she loved now feels a long way away.

It's nice to talk to them again after so long

but I wouldn't want to talk to them about this issue,

I want to talk to them about going back,

but it's not going to happen that way, is it?

I wanted to know why someone with such a great career ahead of her

had done what she'd done.

Lorriane took me up to the south London street

where her arrest took place.

Coincidentally, like Reece, she had stolen from an Argos store.

So you were walking down the road, going to see your boyfriend...

-Yeah.

-And this is the point where you veered off? Just up there?

Yeah, to have a look at what was going on.

What was going on at that point?

Comet had been smashed into and they smashed into Argos

and started comin' in and out with all their stuff.

Then, after about five minutes, I went in.

OK. What was it actually like?

It was a little bit scary, a bit dark.

Someone could have hurt you while you were in there.

The atmosphere was mad. No-one could see anything.

People were bumping into each other.

Everyone was having a laugh about it.

Was there anything that shocked you at all?

That I actually went in. That's what shocked me.

I couldn't really care less about anyone else, there...

They are responsible for their own decisions

but I was a little bit shocked that I actually went in

and done what I did.

Cos you felt guilty?

A bit. I felt guilty for taking it,

for trespassing onto Argos' property,

and I felt a bit evil for doing it in the first place.

I'm supposed to be this law-abiding citizen,

that wears a uniform and there I am,

looting from the country itself.

I did feel major guilty for what I'd done.

From aged 15 to be in the Army...

..to just bolting out of her house on her own for a new telly...

It's messed a lot of things up.

A lot of the people involved

are being illustrated as being really angry still

and blaming everyone else, where as she really isn't.

She's not blaming society or anything.

She wholly blames herself.

Lorriane and Reece were arrested for burglary.

Half of all the rioters were charged with this offence.

The average prison sentence handed out for that charge was 15 months.

The next biggest group of arrests, around a fifth,

were those charged with violent disorder.

These were the people who scared me most,

as I'd watched the footage on those nights.

20-year-old Lewis Kyriakos

was one of those charged with violent disorder,

for his part in the riots,

along with a dozen other youths in a park in High Barnet,

in north London, in scenes much like this...

He was accused of throwing stones and even kicking a police officer.

He claims he is innocent and so does his partner Katy,

from Poland, and mum to their six-month-old daughter.

I'm scared that they will find him guilty for something he hasn't done,

and that Gabriella will not know who her daddy is and where he is.

I don't want him to be sad because Gabriella doesn't remember him.

Lewis is currently serving a prison sentence

for an incident unrelated to the riots.

Last year when Katy was pregnant,

he got angry when a bus driver wouldn't stop to let them on.

From the resulting argument he was found guilty of criminal damage,

receiving a four-month sentence.

He served his time for that charge and today he's coming home on tag,

while he awaits his trial for the riots.

Who's coming home today? Who's coming home today? Huh?

Daddy! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!

Yes, he's coming home today.

-Ah, hello!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, God.

-I know!

She's moaning, but she's not going to... She knows that...

you're coming.

Hello, Papa!

-Hello!

-KATY LAUGHS

Did you miss me? I love you!

Feels good to be back. Really good to be back.

Whilst he's on bail, he'll be fitted with an electronic tag

that tracks his location to make sure

he sticks to his curfew at home.

So, do you know what time the tag is set up for?

The curfew is from six in the evening to six in the morning.

-OK, so make sure you're in for six.

-OK.

We need you to walk into every single room in your house.

Lewis has to create the boundaries for the tag

in every room of the flat, including baby Gabriella's.

Katy, she's awake.

GABRIELLA CRIES

Lewis's tag will stay in place until his trial in April,

four months away.

It's like invisible cell walls that you can't escape.

You're trapped.

It's a bit annoying, I've got a daughter and she got woken up.

It's a bit frustrating but...

At the end of the day, I haven't got a choice.

It's better to be at home and be a dad

than being in jail and not much use to anyone.

On the four nights of the riots, hundreds of millions of pounds of damage was created

as hundreds of people rampaged through our cities.

The fallout was huge.

One of the residents of this building in west London was Leni White.

I wanted to see for myself what had happened

after the chaos of those nights when the cameras had gone.

I lived in that window which is boarded up on the first floor on this corner.

That corner window was the room where I do my music stuff.

Leni is a composer who was living

and working in her west London flat on the night of the riots last year.

This was our front door.

It's so weird.

-Yeah, this was the doorway into the living room.

-Right.

-There was a wall here.

-Yeah.

That's where the fire came up through the floor and burnt that whole corner.

That's where a picture was and another one there.

We were looking out this window into the pub when it was all happening.

Could you hear conversations?

Yeah, people were chatting about what they were going to do

and someone saying they were going to start a fire.

Then I heard somebody say, "I haven't got a lighter. Has anyone got a lighter?"

I just thought, "This is really not a good thing."

Someone threw a bottle of alcohol up at the window.

That's when we thought, "It's all going to go up."

-Sounds like an actual nightmare.

-Yeah.

You know you've got to escape. You don't know what's going to be when you get outside.

You don't know whether they're going to try and attack you.

You think you need to travel light and not take loads of stuff,

but at the same time, leaving all this stuff,

which wasn't a massive amount of stuff,

but for us it was a lifetime's work,

stuff that we'd saved up for and worked hard for.

I couldn't imagine what it would feel like leaving all your possessions behind.

Was anything salvageable from the flat at all?

We took ten bin bags of mouldy, stinking wet clothes

that were smoke damaged and had been completely covered in water from the fire hoses.

I didn't even think about that.

We put them in a friend's car because we didn't have a car

and then we had to drive them to another friend's house

because we didn't have a house or washing machine

and did ten washes of everything.

More than her clothes, it's Leni's musical instruments

and her career that she's most worried about.

People did say to us afterwards, "You're both safe and well

-"so that's all that matters."

-Yeah.

But in a way, it's hard not to think that it's not all that matters.

I've worked so hard to do what I've been doing,

-that it's back to square one.

-Yeah.

Lorriane is taking her first steps to rebuild a new life.

She had her first job interview since coming out of prison

and her first time going for a job with a criminal conviction.

She's handing out flyers at the tourist attraction,

The London Bridge Experience.

The more people that she can drum up,

the more chance of getting the job.

Having previously earned a decent wage in the Army,

she is struggling on Jobseeker's Allowance

of £56 per week and desperate for the break.

It went great today.

I really enjoyed myself. It was an amazing experience.

I just hope the tag people don't take me before I get the job!

Where do you want me to meet you?

But by staying late to impress, she's in danger of missing her curfew.

Her dad is ready to pick her up from the bus to try to make sure she makes it.

I was going to leave at half five but I thought it would be better if I stayed till six.

Shows that I'm really willing to get the job.

But I hope I'm not late home for it. The time is 6.40.

I hope it doesn't take long.

-Are you in?

-Just about.

-What time is it?

-Two minutes to.

You jump straight out and get into that passage.

-Boy, cutting it fine, aren't we?

-It's not my fault, Dad.

I told you on the phone.

Lorriane, run in there now, get in the passage, quick.

-I am, let me get out.

-Go in front of the car, go on, hurry up.

-All right!

-One minute.

-All right!

59! Boy, isn't that tight?

No wonder I have heart attacks!

Yeah, of course I made it. Made bang on seven.

See, no phone call.

If that bus had been missing, she'd have been knackered.

People would have been phoning up and the police would have been round.

She's got a curfew licence.

Later, Lorriane gets news on her job.

I got a phone call from the manager of London Bridge Experience

and he told me that I didn't get the job because I didn't hand out enough vouchers

to get people in the door,

which is a bit upsetting, considering I was really hoping for that job.

I'd take any job right now.

Any job.

Do I have an NVQ Level I in hairdressing? Yes!

"I am a hard-working person."

"Have you been convicted of a criminal offence?" Yes.

"Please state."

What do I write - burglary?

Do you think I should even explain that point?

What it was about? Or should I just leave it as a "yes, burglary"?

With another long night at home on her own,

Lorriane's beginning to realise what life with a criminal record means.

I never thought I'd be applying for a job and writing about my criminal record!

I didn't think I'd ever have one so it was a bit nerve-wracking.

I wonder what they're going to say when they open that application and see my conviction.

It is very stressful.

As you can see.

Very stressful.

In north London, Lewis is preparing for his court case where he will plead not guilty.

If convicted, he will get three years and his family could lose their flat.

I wanted to know his side of the story.

I chose that to walk through the park.

I look back and I wish I'd taken a different route.

Lewis says a group of young men ran past him in the park

and that they got involved in a battle with the police

while he stood back and watched.

In the statements, it's alleged that you kicked a policeman.

That's what is says, yeah.

What actually happened, according to you?

I wasn't even on the road. I was standing there over-looking,

watching what was happening.

Because of my age and maybe the way I dress,

they made an assumption that I was part of what that was.

You're going to trial. What's at stake for you in your life?

A lot of things.

In the balance is two to three years of my life.

Two to three years of my daughter seeing me in her life.

If I get found guilty,

where are my partner and my daughter are going to live?

Just keeping my head straight for two to three years.

For some people, being in jail, it can break them.

-Do you think it could break you?

-It could break anyone.

What about if you didn't have Gabriella?

What was your life like before her?

I was 17, 18, a little troublemaker, really.

Homeless at the time, trying to get money to get food.

Trying to find somewhere to sleep.

I don't know where my life would be. I'm just grateful where it is now.

What will you tell Gabriella one day when she asks?

Bad things happen to good people.

That's what I'll tell her.

If everything he's telling me is true,

it's just a twisted case of events, that's really chaotic, really confusing.

I think it is terrifying for the entire family,

the idea that he could go back to prison for a long time.

Just the idea that the flat could be taken away from them, and the baby being so young,

is really, really quite scary.

I was beginning to realise that once the cameras had left the riots,

for most people affected, it was just the beginning of a painful journey.

Zac Hussein's life was turned upside down by the riots last August as well.

He was four months into running his own cafe business,

a dream come true for him.

So this is the shop I had before it got destroyed.

It's a great location.

Think of a hot day looking out to that green.

On the night of the riots, the building where Zac's cafe was housed

was set alight and the water pumped into it caused extensive damage.

Now you can see the true extent of the damage.

From a wire to a plug to a sofa to a chair,

I spent out my own pocket, and everything was brand-spanking new.

All my savings went on this.

How long did it take you to save?

It took me over ten years to save the money to invest into my own business.

Now I'm left trying to make ends meet and put a roof over my head.

It was horrifying to think

that so much work had gone up in smoke on one night.

I wanted to find out what Zac felt about the people who had done this to him.

I'm interested to know who you think these people were that caused this damage.

Do you think that they are yobs? Do you think they're angry at anything?

Yeah, mindless yobs who caused this, who destroyed my business.

I have anger towards them.

Not only have I lost my livelihood,

my employees have too.

It's had a knock-on effect, even to my suppliers who've lost a contract.

It's affected more than one person.

There are lots of people that have been given quite harsh sentences.

What do you think about the punishment?

I'd rather have them come into a business like mine and help rebuild it,

actually paying out of their own pocket towards the damage they've done.

That would be more productive than prison.

SHOUTING

Of those sentenced at Crown Court for their part in the riots,

most received an immediate prison sentence.

Those sentences were much harsher than would have been the case

outside the riots.

Since his release, Reece James has been living at home on tag with his mum Fiona,

trying to get his dance-teaching career back on track.

I wanted to know why a guy like Reece, who had so much going for him,

got caught up in the riots in the first place.

Reece, your mum's amazing.

You have great career prospects, you're a popular guy.

What was it?

A moment of weakness and I just got carried away.

I thought, "Let's go."

What do you mean, let's go? Let's smash something?

No, it was just get involved in some way.

It was kind of exciting to do that, I suppose.

But what about the people who got affected?

I have heard many stories of people, families and people in families,

who are still completely and utterly destroyed

from the riots getting out of control.

For them, this isn't good enough.

Being caught up in momentum,

feeling a bug, that is not a good enough excuse.

What do you think about that?

My reply is that everybody makes mistakes.

First time I've been in trouble with the police,

and for a first conviction, to give me a 14-month sentence, is an injustice.

I don't feel any sense of remorse. Is there any?

And where is it?

Yes. Of course there is remorse. I am sorry for what I did.

I will say sorry.

I would like to go to Argos, where I was involved in the riots,

and go to the manager and say sorry,

just to clean my own slate.

But I'm not sorry for what the riots stood for.

I was struggling to make the connection between what Reece said had motivated the riots

and what he had done.

Like so much of the riots, his arrest was captured on video. I wanted him to watch it with me.

I hate it.

-It's really not me.

-OK.

It's actually not like me at all.

SHOUTING

That's me.

He took me off behind the van and tried to slam me to the floor.

This makes me cringe.

SHOUTING AND ALARMS

-Scary.

-Yeah.

It's like a mixture of what you'd imagine...

the end of the world or a war...

Yeah, like one of those scenes.

-..where everybody just turns into animals.

-Yeah.

I hear what you're saying.

-And that was you.

-I know.

'I felt that Reece still had a way to go to understand the impact of his actions

'on the victims of the riots.'

In west London, Leni White has moved into new accommodation

and is trying to get her career back on track,

but having left behind her musical instruments in the burning building

on the night of the riots, it's not easy.

SHE SINGS

A week after the riots, she went back to her building

to see what she could retrieve.

SINGING CONTINUES

Despite the fact that it wasn't safe to go back in,

there wasn't a door, so you could just walk in there.

So I did, and I got every single instrument I could find,

cos these are the most important things I have.

Despite losing many things on the night of the riots,

she did manage to salvage one thing of huge significance to her.

My mum saved up to get this for me,

and I just thought that I would never see it again.

VIOLIN STRING TWANGS The violin itself was really wet,

and all this varnish was damaged.

A lot of them, although they look fine,

things like electric guitars, they don't work.

And, you know, all the screws on the pick-ups and everything have rusted.

You know, you can lose clothes and furniture -

really don't care about all that stuff - but this is like,

you know, this is not just my livelihood, hopefully,

but also my sanity and all of my memories are kind of tied up with instruments.

Leni doesn't know where her career is headed,

but for now, she is happy to have her music around her

and a roof over her head.

In Peckham, its Lorriane's birthday, but there's not much to celebrate.

Going to the job centre to go and sign on ON my birthday.

Not good.

I've been coming in at my tag time, going to bed at 7.30,

waking up at stupid hours in the morning, going back to sleep,

waking up again and then going out and then coming back in

and then going back to sleep again at 7.30 because I'm so bored and there's no money to do anything.

You need money to do everything.

Relations with her dad have worsened.

The regular presence of Lorriane's boyfriend in the house is adding to the tension.

My dad's taken the bottom key for the door,

so when he goes to work at night time, he locks the house,

and he keeps telling me if I was in Holloway that I wouldn't have the keys.

He doesn't want no-one around his house,

doesn't want no-one in his house. No friends to come and see me.

I've never liked her boyfriend from day one

and I don't know what she sees in him. Do not know.

So I started locking her in to keep him out.

If I'm been treated like this now, getting my key taken from me

and being told that, "You should be in Holloway, you shouldn't be out," and all of this, by my own dad,

I feel like, "Well, maybe I should just put my foot out the door."

Let them come and get me, go back to Holloway and see how everyone feels.

Oh, I still feel the same as the day I first got her in my arms.

But I told her, "Now that I got you out and you're in here,

"you've got to show some respect and listen to what I'm talking to you about."

'He just needs to actually sit down with me and have a talk and say,'

"OK, what happened that night, and what went wrong?"

And where does he feel that he has failed as a father, sort of thing, but he doesn't want to do it.

And I'm trying to tell him that he hasn't failed,

it's just that I've got a mind and a life of my own

and I just want to do my own thing and I messed up on my own accord.

She's turning 20 today.

As it's after 7pm when her curfew kicks in,

she celebrates the big day with just her dad.

Happy 20th birthday to me, woo-hoo!

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday, dear Lorianne

# Happy 20th birthday to you. #

Happy birthday.

Paul heads off to his night shift on the buses.

He will leave Lorianne alone in the house.

So I'm going to work, Lorianne. Ta-ta.

Oh, you're so energetic(!)

You used to be energetic - I don't know what happened to you today.

-Go! I've had a crap birthday.

-Did you?

Yeah.

Right, I'm going. See you in the morning.

The grind of no work, living off Jobseeker's Allowance,

being cooped up with her dad and life under curfew

is getting Lorriane down.

My probation officer is telling me that I should go to the doctor's

and speak about depression, because he's seen that I've sort of, kind of, slipped.

That I'm not as happy and bubbly as what I usually am.

And he just thinks that I should see the doctor's for depression and my lack of sleep that I'm having,

because I really haven't slept properly at all since I've come out of Holloway.

And I'm by myself most of the time, and when I can't go out after seven, it kind of gets to me, really.

Me and my boyfriend's arguing, and me and my dad's at war.

I've got no money, I've got nowhere to live when my tag comes off. I've got nothing.

I feel like I'm a waste of space. If I feel like a waste of space,

I'll sit at home and waste away, literally, cos that's how I feel.

Lorriane's punishment was really taking its toll on her.

If anything, I was worrying that she was blaming herself too much for what she did last August.

It felt like getting her tag off and creating some space from her dad

would at least relieve some of the pressure for her.

When I met Reece last, he told me he was willing to go and apologise

to the manager of the Argos store where he stole from on the night of the riots.

This week, he's heard that the manager has agreed to a meeting.

For today, though, he has another challenge to overcome.

He's got to face up to his dance students,

who he hasn't seen since going to prison.

For many of these young men, Reece was a role model.

What you saying, lads? What you saying, lads?

Hey, get off me! Get off me.

LAUGHTER

-Come off it, know what I'm sayin'? What you been saying? You still training, yeah?

-Yeah, man.

Yeah? ALL: Yeah!

Yo, guys. I'm back, you know.

Five, six, seven, eight...

boom-boom. Cat-cat, boom.

Yeah, boom, wa-boom, woot.

Basically, it goes boom... boom, t-yoom.

There's a dynamic to it. You see what I'm saying, yeah?

One more time, from the top. Right, guys, guys - listen, watch.

DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

Yeah? OK. Switch rows.

It's time Reece found out what his students thought about his arrest for burglary.

All right, guys. So, out of you lot,

I don't know who knew that I went to prison and stuff, but obviously...

it was a bit of a madness, as I know you all know. Erm...

How did you lot feel about knowing who I am and who I really am?

Like, to see me in that light? Like, how did you a lot see it, like? Go on.

Erm, like, personally,

I kind of thought it was bad-minded for them to do that,

because the amount of people which you teach - not, like, at our school

but Lewisham - they should've given you a second chance,

because I know that going to prison can ruin someone's life, in a way.

What is your perception of prison? Like, do you know what prison's like?

Do you know what you think it's like? Go on, go on. go on.

I know loads of people around my area who's went to prison,

but when they came out they're either a different person or even worse.

Go on.

Well, I think that I was, myself, I was a bit shocked when I saw you in the newspaper.

Because, I thought...

A person like you, I thought you wouldn't do such a thing.

-Yeah, yeah.

-So, it had me down a bit.

And as I knew you a lot, and I would like to become a dancer as well,

you were kind of my role model as well. So, it hurt me inside as well.

I hear that. I think that was my biggest fear, innit?

Like, I know I taught you lot, and I know there are people who look up to me

and they do strive to be a dancer like me and many other dancers,

but I acted out of line that one time.

But I don't want you lot...to...

judge me in any other way, like, other than what you know. You get what I'm saying, like?

-We get that. We know the real you.

-Exactly.

I was kind of nervous. I didn't know how they were going to see me,

like if they'd changed their views on me or whatever.

"Oh, he's been to prison. I don't want to be taught by him."

It was silly, but there was someone who thought,

"That's someone I looked up to." It hurt him and that hurt me.

When he told me, I was like, "Oh, damn!"

I so didn't want to hear that.

But I know that must've happened

to a couple of people, and I'm sorry for that.

Those are the things I'm sorry for, know what I'm saying?

I'm going to make it up to them.

I can't get this on.

In north London, Lewis, Katy and baby Gabriella

are getting on with life despite his impending trial.

The restrictions of his tag and the curfew mean getting work

is virtually impossible for Lewis, so money is tight.

-Who's that?

-Gabriella!

Today, they are planning to take some photos of Gabriella

to see if they can make some money from baby modelling.

But the stress of the case is showing.

BABY CRYING

-You can't do it.

-I'm the cameraman.

No. She doesn't want to.

-I don't care what she wants.

-I don't care, either!

She's not happy now.

She doesn't want to go on her belly.

How many picture you took now?

-Look.

-I don't know how!

You're pissing me off.

Have a look at them before you turn it off.

-There's a lot of good pictures!

-Take this camera off me.

There's a lot of good pictures, actually.

It's been hard between us, really.

It's OK and it's not,

at the same time.

-Go on. Change her, babe.

-Why don't you do it?

You hold her.

With just a few weeks until his court date,

Lewis is struggling to cope.

I don't want to go back to jail.

It's on my mind a lot, in case it goes wrong.

Even though I know I'm innocent, I did nothing wrong,

I just want it to be done and finished with.

If Lewis does go to prison, they could lose the flat.

So Katy and Gabriella will face an uncertain future.

I'm worried if they put him in prison,

we will lose the house and I will be homeless with the baby.

I won't be able to get benefits

or anything to support myself

while he is in prison.

They are not punishing him. I mean, they ARE punishing him,

but on the other hand, they are fucking my life.

For Lorianne in Peckham, relations with her father have worsened.

Her boyfriend broke a window during an argument.

Today, after three months of living under the constraint of her curfew,

she is finally having her tag removed

and I was coming back to see her.

I expected her to be excited about her new-found freedom,

but was met with a very different scene.

-What's going on?

-Dad says I have to leave today.

As soon as the tag comes off, he wants me out.

I'm getting my stuff ready.

So is that really it? You're moving that quickly? Tag comes off - gone?

Yeah, literally.

And where's your dad?

He's in bed, sleeping.

How does he feel about this?

I don't know. I haven't spoken to him.

He's the one kicking me out.

-Lorianne, where's your mum?

-In Jamaica.

-What's she doing there?

-Who cares?

-Do you feel lonely?

-No, not really.

I'm used to it. I've been packing bags all my life.

First, I lived with my parents, then I moved off to my grandparents,

then my mum. Then I've moved in with my dad.

There's no point getting attached to someone or somewhere,

regardless or whether they're your parents or not.

Has there been anything good come out of this?

Yeah. I'm never going to do it again.

Quite literally, I will never do it again.

Never do it again!

DOORBELL RINGS

-Hello.

-Hi, Lorianne.

-I'm Carol from Serco.

-Hello.

-I'm here to take your tag off.

-OK.

-Yeah, OK?

-Yay!

It's coming off, it's coming off, it's coming off, it's coming off!

Take off the boot.

There we go. It's all ready.

'At that point, Lorriane's dad had come downstairs,

'and the atmosphere in the room had become increasingly tense

'for all of us.'

Leave it on there. Leave it on.

Leave it on!

Or if you've got a replacement, put it on.

Yes, the site is suspended now,

so when it's taken off, you'll be fine.

OK?

You leave my keys.

How am I supposed to leave your keys when I've got my stuff to take?

Can you stop being stupid, please?

Seriously, can you just stop being silly?

This is the thanks you get for taking that out of jail.

I wanted to be gone before you woke up!

I can't be bothered.

Seriously, I need to go now,

cos if I don't go now, I'm about to literally smash the place up.

I can't be putting up with this bullshit right now.

I had a real sense that Lorriane's life was falling apart.

I felt really happy for Lorriane to be able to leave the house.

I felt really sorry for her at the same time.

I felt really uncomfortable when I was in the middle of her and her dad were kicking off,

because there was just so much tension there,

and I could feel the walls closing in on me, and I can imagine

how she would feel when they're arguing and she can't leave.

And I feel really worried about her as well.

Over months, I'd watched how the riots had impacted on

the people who'd been arrested that night

and been shocked by it, but the consequences of their actions

were still impacting on the victims.

Zac Hussein, who lost his cafe in the riots,

is also struggling with life without a home.

He's come to London for another series of meetings

with the council and his landlord to see if there is a way

of getting his cafe back on its feet.

My car is my wardrobe at the moment. It's like a mobile home,

cos I've got nowhere to live,

so I'm kind of living out of my car at the moment,

which I'm struggling with.

Zac has been paid out insurance on his possessions,

but whilst the building is being rebuilt, he has no income,

and all the time, his bills are building up.

The more stress you have, the more you tend to smoke.

It's...

..it's my little dirty habit, I suppose,

just to relax my nerves, I suppose.

A few hours of the riots happening, it's destroyed my livelihood.

It's destroyed...not only mine, but my employees as well.

It's turned everything on its head.

And if people who actually committed this crime could think back

and take a step back and think,

"Hang on, if I'm going to commit this act,

"I'm actually destroying someone's life here."

For Lewis, it's the day of his trial.

I went to see how he and Katy were getting on as they got ready.

The next few days would decide their future.

So how you feeling today, then?

-I'm just glad for it to be getting started.

-Yeah.

Just...I'm glad for it to start to finish.

Yeah.

Here you go.

What about if the outcome doesn't go how you want it to?

Then, mostly likely, I'll probably be going to jail.

That's the truth of it.

I need to look for her hat, I need to put her drink in her bottle,

I need to...

Katy knows a guilty verdict could mean the end of the flat

and the beginning of a long stretch for her and Gabriella

without Lewis and a home.

-Are you all right?

-Not today.

Mmm. Stressed.

I think so. I mean, we have already had an argument today.

So, yeah. Stressful and very tense.

Practically walking around here on tippy-toes

with everything like this.

Of those people brought before the courts for the riots,

just 17% were acquitted.

Despite this, Lewis is convinced he can prove his innocence.

It's gloomy.

Gabriella and Katy aren't allowed to go inside the court,

so they're waiting outside in a dark corridor.

I feel like Lewis is really starting to feel that gloom

and he's becoming a bit more edgy and a lot more worried.

And I think the reality is that this could all end really badly,

and it's going to be really, really tough if he goes down.

Lorriane has been staying with her boyfriend.

It's held up her benefits and they've run out of food and money.

She's walked miles to a charity shop to see if

she can get a food parcel.

I've got a young lady here.

-Yeah.

-She would like tea...

..sugar and pasta. I'll just get those ready.

OK.

One minute.

SHE YAWNS

Nearly walked eight miles.

We've walked from Plumstead to Peckham to get some food,

which is near enough eight miles.

And I'm tired.

The reason I need a food parcel is because the money hasn't lasted

and we need to eat.

I've got tea, milk, juice.

-Have I missed something?

-I don't think so.

'I haven't eaten properly for a couple of days.

'I can't remember the last time

'I actually had something decent to eat.'

Having to walk everywhere and not having money is draining.

As you can see, I'm really tired.

So, I'm just feeling a little bit depressed and a little bit agitated

and a little but annoyed, really.

-This is your bag.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-I hope that tides you for the next few days.

-Thank you.

-OK?

-Yeah.

Lorriane is really struggling to cope.

She's been to her GP about her depression and is trying to find suitable accommodation.

In north London, the jury in the trial of Lewis Kyriacous,

charged with violent disorder on the night of the riots,

has finally reached a verdict.

Not guilty.

I did nothing wrong, and I'm out and I'm free

and I can do whatever I want.

I can get on with my life. I did nothing wrong.

-I love you.

-I know, Lewie.

-I love you, K.

-I know!

-Give them a smile!

-See, I've got to go...

Lewis had spent three months on tag awaiting his trial,

and weeks in prison on remand after his arrest.

A huge strain had been put on his family,

all for something he was found innocent of.

For Reece, the big moment has come where he must finally answer for

his actions on the night of the riots.

On that night, he was amongst looters who ruined a store

and created tens of thousands of pounds' worth of damage.

Why are you hellbent on saying sorry?

I am remorseful and sorry for getting involved,

going into the shop and taking part in looting,

because the energy should have been focused on the police,

which was the problem, but I went into the shop.

I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry for that.

Reece has decided he wants to apologise,

but doesn't know what reaction he's going to get.

He's meeting Stephen Dingwall, the manager of the store.

-Is it weird?

-Kind of. Walking in and it looking so...

-I don't know.

-When was the last time you were here?

The day I got arrested.

-Hiya.

-Erm...my name's Reece.

-Right, OK.

Basically, I am one of the rioters.

I've been in prison, I've done my time, I'm on tag now.

I just wanted to come back and clear my conscience, really, and say

that I'm sorry for coming into your shop and looting.

Thank you for taking the time to come in and apologise.

-It's appreciated.

-How do you feel towards Reece?

Erm...

if I'm honest, a lot of mixed emotions.

CLEARS HIS THROAT

Excuse me. Obviously, I appreciate you've come in to apologise,

but obviously, there's the devastation that we were left with.

I don't know how much you played in the actual rioting of the stuff

or whether you just stole the item,

but the devastation that we had to come in to clear up,

and the fact that my team, that have worked really hard

for the last two years,

and to have that sort of crushed overnight

was quite a big impact on myself and my team.

There were tears, there was anger.

But they just pulled together, came in on their days off,

off their holiday, to just get their store back to where it was before,

cos at the end of the day, they work here, spend half their life here,

and they're proud to work here, so...

And do you think it's right that Reece went to prison?

I'd be biased in my answer and say yes.

How do you feel hearing this from him?

Erm...

..I don't know. It's a bit of a...

me personally, I came in when it was obliterated.

So, you know, I didn't have anything to do with that.

Literally, I want into the back, looking around

and I came out with a box that was taken off me instantly.

It wasn't like I smashed stuff,

but knowing what I saw and the atmosphere was when I was in here,

it was crazy.

It was all up in arms, and hearing him talk about

the fact that he had to work...

they had to work hard to get to where they were,

it does...I do genuinely feel bad for that.

So you jumped over the table?

OK, and where did you go?

Reece took me to the very spot where he had stolen from

on the night of the riots.

OK.

-Again, it was really dark.

-Yeah.

Nothing was on, completely blackout.

Everyone was just, like, running.

-I don't even remember it being that long.

-Right.

That seems very far. I don't even remember that.

I don't actually...

I wasn't thinking. I literally was just running.

And then on my way out, I just picked up something. Anything.

It was on a shelf at the bottom. I just picked it up, like that,

and just ran out. I don't know what I was thinking.

Has this been a different experience to what you thought,

coming and speaking to Stephen and coming back here?

I didn't think I'd feel like I do now.

Like I said, hearing you talk about what they went through,

how the people that work here felt, and stuff,

it does make me feel bad.

And again, I feel stupid, and I am sorry for that.

I felt like Reece really had gone a long way

towards understanding what his crime meant -

and I felt that, despite the criminal record, he'd be fine.

But what of Lorriane?

Over 10 months, I'd watched her go from a bubbly Army cadet

to a girl who was suffering from depression,

estranged from her family, and whose life had almost been crushed.

She'd paid the price for her actions,

but from where I watched, that price seemed really destructive.

She'd split up with her boyfriend

and found temporary accommodation for the homeless.

Just in case I do end up having it longer,

I don't have to bloody clean it, then, do I?

It's really dumb.

I had to go to my doctor to declare my depression, so...

Yeah. I suppose it's getting there.

Her relationship with her dad is still up and down.

Recently me and my dad fell out again so he changed the locks on me,

and then my mum came back from holiday,

and she kind of told him off, so now he's talking to me again.

So he's helping me get some stuff in.

He got me a kettle and a toaster and a little storage unit

and some cleaning products, so he's helping me get my place started.

See? Good things are happening.

Good things are happening. It's OK.

A year on from the riots, and we're still grappling

with what they meant and why they happened.

What I've learned from spending months with the people involved

is that those four nights last August pulled apart families,

businesses and careers for both victims and perpetrators,

and that chaos was created not by anonymous hoodies

but by real people, many of whose lives were changed for ever by the riots.

Me, like an idiot, went and looted in a stupid riot

that had nothing to do with me in any way, shape or form,

got myself involved, got myself sent to prison,

messed up my whole career.

Put it this way...

BLOWS RASPBERRY

..next riot, you're not going to see my face.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd