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The father who became a national symbol of peace after losing his son in the Birmingham riots five years ago has said he will never give up in the fight for justice.

Haroon Jahan 20, Abdul Musavir, 30 and his brother Shahzad Ali, 31 were killed by a speeding car as they defended their Winson Green community from looters.

And hours after cradling his son Haroon as he died in the street, Tariq Jahan called for calm with his now famous words “Step forward if you want to lose your son. Otherwise calm down and go home”. There were no further riots the following night.

But Mr Jahan is still waiting for justice, those accused of the murder were acquitted and the justice system has failed to provide the answers.

He said: “For most people it was something which happened five years ago. For me it has been every day.”

Many have offered words of support including Prince William who told him ‘don’t give up’ after they discussed the tragedy during one of the royal’s visits to Birmingham.

“It’s been five years now and I’m still fighting for a public inquiry.

"The people that I meet are very supportive but when it comes to politicians, I’ve been told ‘it costs too much’ for a public inquiry. That is what it comes down to, it’s money.

“These three men died and you’re putting a price on their lives. Five years on I have to hold myself together and maybe I won’t see justice, maybe not in my lifetime.

“But I have the will and strength, I’m going to carry on.”

He has taken strength from Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered Stephen Lawrence, who waited 19 years to see his killers jailed.

But added that in a dozen trips to Westminster to lobby for a public inquiry all he has to show is a ‘pat on the back’.

“How I found my son, the condition he was in, trying to revive him, save his life and then finding out from the coroner that there was nothing I could have done.

“Faith has it’s good points, you trust in God and I do but it’s not God I’m asking it’s politicians. I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall.”

Fighting back tears as he looked back to that tragic night five years ago he said he finds it strange how he became this national symbol. His call for people to go home ended immediate thoughts of revenge and, along with the shock of three violent deaths on the streets, stopped further rioting.

“We were out there defending the shops, the homes the businesses and the community. Unfortunately everyone remembers the incident, a car came out of nowhere and run over these three young men.

“I found them within seconds of the impact. I tried to give them CPR but there was not much I could have done.

“People remember the speech. I’ve been recognised for it up and down the country.

"I find it strange and from the point of a father - your son is murdered, you get no justice but you’re recognised for this.”

He said it’s painful going over the night, watching his son die and admitted he was in shock for three years.

While he says the riots were triggered by the shooting of Mark Duggan in London and a civil rights case, issues of race and poverty had little to do with the widespread looting and chaos which hit a number of British cities.

“A large number of people just jumped in and went out to see what they could get without a thought for the consequences.”

But he prefers to recall the groundswell of people who came out on the streets with brooms and black bags in the days after and the thousands who attended the peace rally in Summerfield Park.

And out of the tragedy some positive has arisen in the form of the Haroon Jahan Foundation and the charity work.

The charity was set up following Tariq’s aid trip to Syria in 2012 and has since sent two containers packed with donated clothes, toiletries, food and blankets to refugees in Lesbos, Greece.

A giant pile of donations are being collected in a lock up in Sparkbrook for a further trip.

Earlier this year the Birmingham Mail covered the Foundation’s last trip Lesbos showing Tariq handing out boxes of Jaffa Cakes to the delighted children.

“Just putting your arm around someone and them knowing a fellow human being cares makes a huge difference to them.”

“We’re also helping the homeless here in Birmingham,” he added.

“This is something, a legacy I want to leave in my son’s name. A positive legacy after all that’s happened.”