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UK parliament recalled as rioting spread

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Aug 9, IRNA -- Prime Minister David Cameron announced Tuesday that parliament is being recalled from its summer recess after chairing an emergency Cobra meeting with cabinet colleagues and security chiefs to deal with the spread of rioting across Britain's major cities.

Cameron, who cut short his holidays, pledged “the full force of the law” to combat three successive nights of rioting across London, increasing the number of police on the streets of the capital from 6,000 to 16,000 by bringing in officers from other areas, but stopping short of using the army.

'This is criminality pure and simple and it has to be confronted and defeated,' he said, warning rioters: 'You are not only wrecking the lives of others, you are not only wrecking your communities, you are potentially wrecking your own lives too.'

The scale and intensity of the three successive nights of rioting in London, described as the worst in living memories, has overstretched the police and left prisons in the capital unable to cope, causing jail cells to be used elsewhere to deal with the 450 arrests so far.

Rioting overnight Monday spread further across London as well as to other major cities, for the first time, including Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol and Birmingham, where alone there were another 100 arrests.

Several football matches have been cancelled, including England's friendly international against the Netherlands at Wembley on Wednesday night because of the fear of violence erupting.

Chair of the parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz called police forces to work with local community leaders, and said that they must be “provided with whatever resources necessary and given whatever special powers they need to bring this lawlessness to an end urgently.'

Cameron said that MPs were being recalled on Thursday to hold a debate on the riots and for all to be able “to stand together in condemnation of these crimes — and also to stand together in determination to rebuild these communities.”