London under siege; riots & looting bring city on the brink
Lawless London, screamed headlines as the world's premier financial centre struggled to come to terms to two nights of rioting and looting spread across the city. As home secretary Theresa May hurried back from holiday, other police and political bigwigs - including London mayor Boris Johnson and David Cameron faced rising criticism for all being on vacation when the city is hit by the worst riots since the 80s. The Met Police, still struggling with the bribery scandal, is facing more criticism for not being able to handle the situation.
What began as peaceful protest in Tottenham, a poor suburb in north London Saturday, took an ominous turn Sunday, as mobs of people, including children as young as 7, coordinated using twitter and blackberry messengers, indulged in systematic loot and burn raids across burbs in the city.
They targeted high-end electronic and designer trainer stores, amongst others - and even damaged property in central London's Oxford Street. By Monday over 100 arrests were made, but despite widespread condemnation of the looting, London is still to get a handle on what set off what many are describing as a criminal shopping spree.
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, the seniormost politician available in the country Monday, condemned the riots as "needless, opportunistic theft," a sentiment echoed by the local community leaders in Tottenham, the scene of the original riots. The widespread violence, which police admitted took them by surprise, has again brought into the limelight the effect of David Cameron's savage cuts to social spending programmes, and their impact on the marginal and poor, especially the youth.
In areas where unemployment is endemic, youth welfare schemes have been cut, ditto the budgets of the Met Police. It has also again brought to the surface the simmering racial tensions in vulnerable communities like Tottenham, where the incident that triggered the saga of violence, was about police shooting a local Tottenham man, Mark Duggan, allegedly in a shootout.
Between mayhem in the markets, a looming recession, and a violent outburst from London's dark underbelly, London seems to be under siege.
What began as peaceful protest in Tottenham, a poor suburb in north London Saturday, took an ominous turn Sunday, as mobs of people, including children as young as 7, coordinated using twitter and blackberry messengers, indulged in systematic loot and burn raids across burbs in the city.
They targeted high-end electronic and designer trainer stores, amongst others - and even damaged property in central London's Oxford Street. By Monday over 100 arrests were made, but despite widespread condemnation of the looting, London is still to get a handle on what set off what many are describing as a criminal shopping spree.
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, the seniormost politician available in the country Monday, condemned the riots as "needless, opportunistic theft," a sentiment echoed by the local community leaders in Tottenham, the scene of the original riots. The widespread violence, which police admitted took them by surprise, has again brought into the limelight the effect of David Cameron's savage cuts to social spending programmes, and their impact on the marginal and poor, especially the youth.
In areas where unemployment is endemic, youth welfare schemes have been cut, ditto the budgets of the Met Police. It has also again brought to the surface the simmering racial tensions in vulnerable communities like Tottenham, where the incident that triggered the saga of violence, was about police shooting a local Tottenham man, Mark Duggan, allegedly in a shootout.
Between mayhem in the markets, a looming recession, and a violent outburst from London's dark underbelly, London seems to be under siege.
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