Wednesday, August 10, 2011

England riots: Fightback under way, says PM

 
Police try to tackle masked youths in Manchester
"We needed a fightback and a fightback is under way", the prime minister has said after four days of riots.
David Cameron said every action would be taken to restore order, with contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24 hours' notice.
On Tuesday night, unrest spread to cities including Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham, with shops being looted and set alight.
Three men died when they were hit by a car in Birmingham.
Mr Cameron, speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, said police had the legal backing to use any tactics necessary to bring the situation under control, including using baton rounds.
He said: "This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped. We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets.
Map of riots across England
"We have seen the worst of Britain, but I also believe we have seen some of the best of Britain - the million people who have signed up on Facebook to support the police, coming together in the clean-up operations."
The PM said more arrests would take place as police worked through CCTV evidence. "Picture by picture, the criminals are being identified and arrested," he said.
Home Secretary Theresa May told the BBC she had ordered all police forces in England and Wales to mobilise special constables, cancel leave and adopt a "tough, robust approach".
Earlier, Mr Cameron said: "There are pockets of our society that are not just broken, but are frankly sick.
"It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society, people allowed to feel the world owes them something, that their rights outweigh their responsibilities and their actions do not have consequences. Well, they do have consequences."
Courts stayed open throughout the night to deal with the number of people charged.
The prime minister said anyone convicted of violent disorder would be sent to prison.
Earlier, London Mayor Boris Johnson urged the government to reconsider its plans to cut police numbers, saying the argument had been "substantially weakened" by the riots.
'We have your face' At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Greater Manchester Police's Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said he had seen "the most sickening scenes" of his career, and said the force had been overwhelmed.
Some 113 people have been arrested so far over the trouble in Manchester and Salford, where hundreds of youths looted shops and set fire to cars and buildings.
He said the force was "absolutely intent" on bringing the rioters to justice and his officers were already studying CCTV.
"Hundreds and hundreds of people, we have your image, we have your face, we have your acts of wanton criminality on film. We are coming for you, from today and no matter how long it takes, we will arrest those people responsible," he said.
In the West Midlands, 109 have been arrested and 23 charged following scenes of disorder in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich - where vehicles were set on fire.
In other developments:
Scotland Yard drafted in special constables and community support officers in London to ensure five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday - 16,000 - were on duty. They made 81 arrests.
Downing Street said the increased level of policing would remain in place "as long as necessary" to prevent a repeat of the violence.
Asst Chief Constable Garry Shewan: "We have your image, we have your face ... we are coming for you"
It said while there was "no complacency," police tactics in London had "clearly worked".
The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Stephen Kavanagh, said London deserved "some resilience and sustainability from police".
Referring to proposed police cuts, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "That case was pretty frail and it's been substantially weakened. This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers."
But the Home Office said the reductions in the police budget were manageable.
The riots first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, by police.
 

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