Bristol Mayor says 'selfish' rioters have made police bill more likely with violence

Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard spoke to Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees on Monday's show following violent clashes in the city between police and protestors.

Footage of the clash showed a police van on fire as Kill the Bill protesters attacked officers with missiles, while the heads of police unions said officers suffered "suspected broken arms and ribs" as they were pelted with objects in Bristol.

Mr Rees said: "This goes absolutely against everything we have built over the last few years and what we stand for."

"How would you describe the protesters?" asked Susanna.

"Self-indulgent, selfish, self-centred," replied the Mayor.

Marvin Rees says the violence has only furthered the argument for the police bill the protesters oppose (ITV)

"What they have done has nothing to do with the bill, in fact, as everyone has been pointing out, it will be used as evidence for people who want to support the bill.

"They have no strategy, no connection to any real politics, it's just them taking the opportunity to express their emotions and whatever distorted source they have."

He continued: "Being a black man, I am from a community that's disproportionately likely to end up at the wrong end of the criminal justice system, and receive unfair treatment from that system.

Mr Rees was devastated to see demonstrators "smash up his city" (ITV)

"If they make the bill more likely, it doesn't bring me closer to justice, it pushes justice further away.

"For myself, for my brothers and sisters, people from traditionally poor communities, they have done nothing to support us.

"They have done nothing in line with what we have done over the last few years, to feed our children, to house people who don't have homes, to take care of people coming out of the justice system and re-entry into our community.

The Mayor says the rioters had selfish motivations that were not related to the police bill (ITV)

Riots broke out in Bristol when an initially peaceful protest turned violent (PA)

"They have just turned up to try to smash up our city, and that's absolutely unacceptable."

Mr Rees said it was a small group of protesters who turned the events violent, and added that they "took the focus away" from the Kill the Bill cause.

"These people were just out to cause problems," he said. "They have got nothing to do with the bill."

He added: "Let's do the debate about the bill justice, and not attach it to people who have gone out to smash up our city."

* Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV at 6am