Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff West, Rhodri Morgan, later described how "the weather was absolutely scorching and sultry, which was half the problem".
[4] Abdul Waheed, a Pakistani-born shopowner who had opened his store at 70 Wilson Road seven years earlier,[5] was accused by some locals of trying to put a white shopkeeper,[3] Carl Agius, who was of Maltese descent,[4][5] out of business.
Waheed had obtained a court injunction that banned the rival shop from selling bread and other food products at discounted prices.
[7] Morgan later wrote in his autobiography that he had made a mistake by speaking to police first at the scene rather than locals, believing he had shown that he was siding with the authorities.
[2] Over the weekend of 1–2 September, estimates put the number of rioters at around 500, who threw stones, petrol bombs and fired air rifles at riot police.
His response was heavily criticised by Labour Council leader Bob Morgan who retorted "pretty outrageous for a home secretary to talk in those terms.
"[2] Morgan blamed the violence on the "build-up of this huge reservoir of disadvantaged youths, which not only can't find employment, but they have no real hope.
[2] Some newspapers claimed that the violence was racially motivated, but these comments were dismissed by local residents and Andrew May, assistant chief constable of South Wales Police, who commented "the local community has taken sides between the two shops and then a large group of younger men have turned their hostile intentions towards the police.