1980 St. Pauls riot the "Western Daily Press". 16 of those arrested were prosecuted for riot, but all were either acquitted, had the charges dropped or were discharged after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Copycat riots in Southmead, a predominately white working-class council estate, occurred soon after the St Pauls disturbance. Later commentators suggested that poverty and the sus laws were more important causes of the riots than race. The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee held a session in Bristol and Home Secretary William Whitelaw came to the city to hold meetings with the local authorities and representatives of the
St Pauls, Bristol the early 2000s (decade) when rival Jamaican Yardie and drug gangs such as the British Aggi Crew fought turf wars over territory. The drugs war between the rival feuding factions was extinguished following en masse arrests of both the Yardies and the home grown Aggi Crew with a main proportion of the foreign drug dealers being deported back to Jamaica. The Black and White Café was closed in March 2005, and has been demolished to make way for houses after a compulsory purchase order. Now the area is experiencing a positive urban renewal with the St. Pauls Unlimited scheme. St