London riots: Violence erupts for third day

Source: BBC News

Violence has broken out for a third consecutive day in London, with riot police deployed and firefighters tackling blazes across the capital.

Shops were looted and buildings, among them a furniture store in Croydon, set alight as police clashed with youths.

Trouble first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police.

The prime minister is returning early from holiday to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee Cobra.

David Cameron, who is on holiday in Italy, was due to board a flight on Monday night ahead of a meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May and Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin on Tuesday.

A government spokesman said the prime minister has been monitoring the situation on "an hourly basis".
Mounted police

Monday's violence started in Hackney after a man was stopped and searched by police but nothing was found.


There were also fears trouble may spread further afield as police in riot gear were deployed in Birmingham city centre after scores of youths rampaged through the shopping area, smashing windows and looting from shops.

Meanwhile:

Cars were set on fire in Lewisham
A bus and shop were set alight in Peckham
Several fires broke out in Croydon, including one at a large furniture shop which spread to neighbouring buildings and tram lines
In Hackney 200 riot officers with dogs and mounted police were located around Mare Street where police cars were damaged
Looters raided a Debenhams store and a row of shops in Lavender Hill in Clapham
In Birmingham, police said officers had made 35 arrests, including six juveniles, on Monday evening
Buses were diverted as the violence spread to Bromley High Street
There were reports of looting of phone shops in Woolwich High Street, in south London, and a torched police car
Shops and restaurants were damaged in Ealing, west London, and there was a fire in Haven Green park opposite Ealing Broadway Tube
Football matches at Charlton and West Ham which were due to be played on Tuesday have been postponed at the request of the police

The fresh violence prompted Mr Godwin to call on parents to contact their children and urge the public to clear London's streets.

In the first outbreak of violence on Monday, groups of people began attacking the police in Hackney at about 16:20 BST, throwing rocks and a bin at officers.

Police cars were also smashed by youths armed with wooden poles and metal bars.

Looters also smashed their way into shops, including a JD Sports store, before being dispersed by police.

Planks of wood taken from a lorry were then hurled towards lines of riot officers.




In nearby Lewisham, a number of vehicles and a trail of bins were set on fire.

At least 215 people have been arrested and 25 charged following the riots across London over the past two days.

In Birmingham City Centre looters attacked shops, smashing windows and stealing items.

An eyewitness said windows have been smashed in McDonalds and Jessops near Birmingham Cathedral and a sign has been thrown through a gym window.

London's mayor Boris Johnson is cutting short his holiday to return to the city.

Home Secretary Theresa May also returned early from holiday, to meet Metropolitan Police (Met) chiefs to discuss their response to the violence.

Mrs May condemned the riots as "sheer criminality" and said those responsible would "face the consequences of their actions".

The trouble follows two nights of violence over the weekend which started after police shot a man dead in Tottenham.

Mrs May said: "The riots in Tottenham on Saturday night and the subsequent disturbances in other parts of London are totally unacceptable."

A peaceful protest in Tottenham on Saturday over the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, 29, was followed by violence which spread into Sunday.


A candlelit vigil was due to be held at The High Cross in Tottenham on Monday evening.

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said there were "significant resources" on the streets, with a third more officers on duty than on Sunday.

He said: "What we can see is that the Metropolitan Police are getting police officers there in numbers.

"When we have large numbers of criminals intent on that type of violence, we can only do that, get lots of officers there quickly and try to protect local businesses and local people."

But eyewitnesses reported as trouble spread across the city there were often few police officers around when violence flared.

Mr Kavanagh also admitted relations with the family of the man shot dead by police could have been handled better.

Mr Kavanagh said: "I want to apologise to the Duggan family because I think both the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) and the Metropolitan Police could have managed that family's needs more effectively."

If you take away people's hope, if you deprive them of the chance to make a decent life and at the same time bend the rules in your favour, what do you expect?

If some can make millions breaking the country financially, while others tell lies about celebrities for money and elected representatives fiddle their expenses, what do you expect?

If chains of supermarkets can buy up land needed for other purposes and just store for later use, at their own convenience, what do you expect?

If pubs can be designed simply to get as many people to get drunk beyond belief in the shortest period of time at maximum cost, what do you expect?

If government ministers think there is nothing wrong in accepting exorbitant hospitality from the super rich, getting funded by billionaires who do not live in the UK but expect to gain influence over others, what do you expect?

If the police are seen to be selling confidential information to the press on a systematic scale, what do you expect?

If politicians lie to us, the people they are supposed to serve, in order to declare a war in which we, the people they serve, will lose loved ones, what do you expect?

These people may not be out on the streets trashing the UK; they don't need to be, they have all ready done it.

I, for one, expect people to behave with decency. Lots of people are having a tough time, they are not all out there causing mayhem.

I don't care if they haven't got the latest TV, phone or gadget. I don't care if they feel they are 'due' more - it does not give them the right to inject fear into local communities.

I refuse to make excuses for them. They are criminals, setting fires, stealing and risking lives. We cannot just shake our heads and say 'Ah well, bless them, it's understandable.'

I, obviously, have higher expectations of people.




I deleted my sig.

This is from the News Shopper website:

00.45 Looting is taking place in Bromley. We spoke to a girl who got caught up the melee.

She said: "We got chased for no reason just because we were walking through and they chased us from outside TK Maxx to round by the civic centre.

“Everyone was running and we just wanted to see what was going on.

“I saw a blond boy take an Xbox from round the back of Argos, he got a TV and something stupid, something little.

“People say they are going to smash up Primark and burn it down.

“Everyone is coming up here, the later it gets the more people will come back. I just want to watch. I'm not stupid enough to go in, I'm banned from Primark.”

The real problem is that the education system has failed on a national scale, and the schools are turning out morons. These are not politically-activated morons, or racially-discriminated-against morons, or even casualties-of-the-recession morons. These are moronic morons. Their stupidity is spectacular, and these copycat 'riots' are the tip of the iceburg. This isn't something that will die down - it is just beginning. A generation of idiots is out there, and they are not going to disappear.

I expect next year's London Olympics will be turned into a nightmare: foreign visitors attacked, transport torched, curfews around the Olympic stadium.

Why don't they use water cannon that can put out blazes & rioters?.
If these rioters want a real traget why not go & besiege the home of Fred the Shred?
From afar, it's like watching a computer game stirred up by the use of social networking - the twin evils? of modern society.
Mum TXts Tommy: U can cm home luv, T's ready, & don't forget to nick 1 more TV fr yr Aunt Edna.