London police say nearly 600 are charged over riots
LONDON — Thousands of additional police officers were stationed on Britain’s streets Friday, as the country faced its first weekend since rioting flared in cities and suburbs, leaving a scarred landscape of broken glass and torched buildings.
Police in London, which experienced the worst violence, have charged almost 600 people with violence, disorder and looting. The city’s mayor said Londoners wanted to see tough sentences handed out to the guilty. Five people died amid the violence, looting and arson that broke out Saturday in London and spread over four nights across England.
British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament that the government is looking at whether there should be limits on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook if they are being used to spread disorder. (Aug. 10)
London and other British cities burn in the nation’s worst civil disturbances in decades. The Washington Post's Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi reports.
Police, meanwhile, hit back against criticisms of their initial response to the disorder, including a rebuke by Prime Minister David Cameron. Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said it was police themselves, rather than “political interference,” who brought the situation under control.
Cameron vowed “swift justice” for perpetrators, and courts were struggling to cope with the flood of defendants.
Across the country, more than 1,700 people have been arrested. Courts in London, Birmingham and Manchester have stayed open around the clock since Wednesday to deal with alleged offenders.
The accused included an 11-year-old boy, a teenage ballerina, a 24-year-old university graduate who admitted to stealing a television from an electronics store and Chelsea Ives, an 18-year-old chosen as a volunteer ambassador for next year’s Olympic Games.
Ives is accused of burglary, violent disorder and throwing bricks at a police car in north London on Sunday. Newspapers reported that she was charged after her parents saw her rioting on television and turned her in.
Parliament was called back from its summer break Thursday for an emergency debate on the riots and ways to prevent further outbreaks. Cameron said measures under consideration include allowing police to order people to remove masks or hoods, evicting troublemakers from subsidized housing and temporarily disabling cellphone instant-messaging services.
Cameron also told lawmakers that he would look to U.S. cities such as Boston for inspiration and mentioned former Los Angeles, New York and Boston police chief William J. Bratton as a person who could offer advice.
Bratton said he received a phone call Friday from Cameron asking him whether he would consider becoming a consultant for British police. He said he thanked Cameron for the opportunity and would continue speaking with British officials to formalize an agreement.
— Associated Press
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