The solution that started a problem
The ruling set in motion a series ofphysical attacks on blacks, culminating in three nights ofviolence over the August holiday. According to Peter Fryer, two thousand people attacked a hostel for black seamen, who were forced to barricade themselves in (1984, p. 368). Further offensives on clubs and hostels followed, and street battles went on, prompting police intervention. 'The general impression appears to be that the police took action which they thought would bring the disturbances to a close as quickly as possible, ' writes Anthony Richnlond, 'which, in their view, meant removing the coloured minority, rather than attempting to arrest the body ofirresponsible whites who were involved' (1954, p. 103). Effectively,
the police joined forces with the white attackers and set about intimidating blacks, either through physical beatings or through arrest, or both. After the violence had subsided, a police spokesman was quoted as proclaiming: 'There isn't any colour question in Liverpool. '