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British Prime Minister Recalls Parliament, Boosts Police Presence After Riots

09.08.2011 11:12

British Prime Minister David Cameron has recalled Parliament and nearly tripled the number of police in London after a third night of riots, looting, and arson that wrecked businesses in many parts of the British capital.

Cameron emerged from crisis talks today saying his government would do all it can to restore order after the worst street violence Britain has seen in decades.

He said Parliament would return from recess for a day on August 11 over the crisis.

But he stopped short of calling for the deployment of army troops in the worst-hit neighborhoods, saying instead that a bolstered police force would be able to restore order.

Cameron also dismissed descriptions of the rioting as social unrest, saying the violence in London and several other cities was "criminality, pure and simple" that has to be "confronted and defeated."

"There has already been 450 people arrested. We will make sure that court procedures and processes are speeded up, and people should expect to see more -- many more -- arrests in the days to come," Cameron said.

"I am determined, the government is determined, that justice will be done -- and these people will see the consequences of their actions."

The rioting by masked and hooded youths spread across many areas of London overnight, as well as to three other cities -- Birmingham, Liverpool, and Bristol -- raising concerns that police are unable to maintain order.

Police had called in hundreds of reinforcements, with more than 6,000 officers on the streets of the capital overnight. They also made a rare decision to deploy armored vehicles in some of the worst-hit districts.

Nevertheless, with police struggling to keep pace with the chaos, Cameron acknowledged that the rioting has badly stretched police resources.

"We need more, much more, police on our streets. And we need even more robust police action," he said. "The Metropolitan Police commissioner has said that compared with the 6,000 police on the streets last night in London, there will be some 16,000 officers tonight. All leave within the Metropolitan Police has been canceled. There will be aid coming from police forces up and down the country, and we will do everything necessary to strengthen and assist those police forces that are meeting this disorder."

Police today said they were planning for more mass-disorder, and might consider using baton rounds -- nonlethal rubber or plastic bullets.

Rioters and looters were left virtually unchallenged in several London neighborhoods where they were able to plunder from stores at will or attempt to break into private homes. Restaurants and stores fearful of looting closed early across.

Many London residents are asking why more force can't be used to restore order -- including the imposition of night curfews, the use of police water cannon, or even the deployment of army troops in the capital.

Police said a man who was shot in a car during the rioting in London died today. The 29-year-old man was found with gunshot wounds late on August 8 in Croydon, a south London area where several buildings were burned down during the riots. It was the first reported fatality from the unrest.

Croydon resident Larry Humphries, who witnessed the rioting, was simply dumbfounded by the lack of law enforcement in his neighborhood.

"The looters had the freedom to break into any shop around," Humphries said. "Left, right, they kicked it in, they will loot. Some of them were unable to carry so many things that they left it, as though they are waiting for a taxi to come and pick them up. And we were all here watching -- people were here watching. What I couldn't understand was: Where was the helicopter? Where were the police in riot gear? Where were the dogs and so on?"

London resident Hira Khawaja, whose flat was destroyed by an arsonist, said she didn't see any deeper cause to the violence than bored, unemployed teenagers amusing themselves.

"They were just teenagers. I think they were having fun," she said. "But for them, it is fun, but for other people, it is life. They shouldn't do that."

Although authorities were unwilling to impose a night curfew in the troubled neighborhoods, acting London police commissioner Tim Godwin called for residents to stay off the streets amid the rioting so that police are better able to go after looters and arsonists.

Violence first broke out late on August 6 in the low-income, multiethnic district of Tottenham in north London, where outraged protesters demonstrated against the fatal police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan, a father of four who was gunned down in disputed circumstances on August 4.

But as the unrest spread, some pointed to rising social tensions in Britain as the government slashes $130 billion from public spending by 2015 to reduce a huge budget deficit that has swollen after the country spent billions to bail out foundering private banks.

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/london_riots_crisis_talks_cameron/24290975.html

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British Prime Minister Recalls Parliament, Boosts Police Presence After Riots