“TOWN left in shock by appalling rape outside church,” screamed a headline on the BBC website on Monday of last week. The report explained that a woman had been gang-raped outside Epsom Methodist Church late the previous Saturday night. The MP, Helen Maguire, expressed her sympathy for the victim. The Revd Dr Jonathan Dean, chair of the London Methodist district, said that he was “shocked and heartbroken” by the incident and promised the support of the church community. By Wednesday night, an estimated 200 people — many of whom were not from the area — were climbing on to the roofs of businesses in the High Street, demanding that the police release more information about the incident. In scenes that were variously described as “total chaos” and “intimidating” by witnesses, the situation escalated, and riot police were brought in to control the crowds.

Surrey Police have now issued a statement to say that, despite extensive inquiries, a review of CCTV footage, house-to-house inquiries, interviewing potential witnesses and conducting forensic work, they could find no evidence that the incident had happened as reported. Nor could they find any indication that asylum-seekers or immigrants were involved, contrary to the rumours circulating. They said that they had been unable to release any descriptions of suspects because there was simply not enough information available.

Whatever happened that night — and the police statement emphasises that the investigation continues — it is clear that it takes little to light the touchpaper on Britain’s streets. Like the anti-immigration protests outside hotels housing asylum-seekers over the past year, this riot is a sign of deep-seated anger bubbling very close to the surface. Hot on the heels of the events in Epsom, this week the BBC broadcast a Panorama report showing that anti-Semitic incidents in the UK had risen significantly over the past few years, leaving many British Jews fearful. Attacks that have made the news include the knife attack at Heaton Park synagogue last October, when two members of the congregation were killed, the recent targeting of Jewish premises in Golders Green and Finchley, and the arson attempts on a business in Hendon and a synagogue in Kenton just last weekend.

There is suspicion that some of the anti-Semitic attacks may be being orchestrated by outsiders, using activists on the ground to carry them out. Certainly, it is clear that the potential for protest is swiftly amplified by social media: the Epsom riot is reported to have been promoted online by Danny Tommo, a former associate of Tommy Robinson. It is not by any means the first time that the human desire to scapegoat others has erupted into ugly violence. Christians have a word for this, and it is sin. Yet the truth is that increasing numbers of people in Britain feel disenfranchised and as if no one is listening. Turning round the tanker of societal dis-ease is essential and will require determination by government, faith groups, and local communities. Right now, this seems a Herculean task.