British Prime Minister David Cameron said he would recall Parliament from its summer recess for a day on Thursday after rioting swept through London for three consecutive nights.
“This is criminality pure and simple,” he told reporters on Tuesday outside his Downing Street office after breaking off his annual holiday to return to Britain.
“People should be in no doubt that we will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain’s streets.”
As residents and shopkeepers surveyed smashed windows, looted shops and burned out buildings in several areas of the capital, many called for police to take more forceful action.
Cameron said some 16 000 police would be on London’s streets on Tuesday night, up from the 6 000 on duty on Monday, boosted by reinforcements from across the country.
“It is quite clear that we need more, much more, police on our streets and we need even more robust police action,” he said.
“These are sickening scenes … this is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated.”
He said Parliament would meet on Thursday “so I can make a statement to Parliament and we can hold a debate and we are all able to stand together in condemnation of these crimes”.
Peaceful protest
Rioters were left virtually unchallenged in several neighbourhoods and able to plunder from stores at will or attempt to invade homes. Restaurants and stores closed early across London, fearful of looting.
Violence flared throughout the night, from gritty suburbs along the capital’s fringes to central London’s famously glitzy Notting Hill neighbourhood. London’s Ambulance Service said it had treated 16 patients, of whom 15 were hospitalised. Police said 334 people had been arrested and 69 people charged with offenses.
Violence first broke out late on Saturday in London’s northern Tottenham district when a peaceful protest over the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four who was gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday, turned violent.
In London, groups of young people rampaged for a third straight night, setting buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps alight, looting stores and pelting police officers with bottles and fireworks.
Dozens of people attacked shops in Birmingham’s main retail district, and clashed with police in Liverpool and Bristol — spreading the chaos beyond London for the first time on Monday night.
The small groups of youths — most with their heads and faces covered — used SMS messages, instant messaging on BlackBerry smartphones and social media platforms such as Twitter to coordinate their attacks and stay ahead of the police. — Sapa-AP, Reuters