Monday, August 8, 2011

UK News:

British PM returns as violence escalates
August 9, 2011 - 9:04AM
AP
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Swathes of London are burning as the most devastating night of rioting so far rages across the capital for a third day.

The escalating crisis forced British Prime Minister David Cameron to cut short his holiday amid fears the chaos was spreading beyond London.

Home Secretary Theresa May condemned "sheer criminality" as police and emergency services were overwhelmed by a third consecutive night of looting and violence.
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Bloody scenes resembling war zones broke out across east and south London on Monday after thousands of yobs took to the streets to loot, rob, set fire to property and attack police.

As the violence spread to Birmingham, Mr Cameron flew back to Britain to chair the Government's emergency committee Cobra and meet police chiefs.

Metropolitan Police Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin issued a direct appeal to families to help police tackle the "gratuitous" violence and appealed directly to families.

He said: "I do urge now that parents start contacting their children and asking where their children are.

"There are far too many spectators who are getting in the way of the police operation to tackle criminal thuggery and burglary."

The districts of Croydon, Hackney and Peckham saw the fiercest of tonight's disturbances with hundreds of shops smashed up and set alight.

Police had already made 215 arrests over the previous two days since the first eruption of violence in Tottenham.

Mrs May said: "I think this is about sheer criminality. That is what we have seen on the streets. The violence we've seen, the looting we've seen, the thuggery we've seen - this is sheer criminality, and let's make no bones about it.

"That's why I say that these people will be brought to justice, they will be made to face the consequences of their actions and I call on all members of local communities to work with the police constructively to help the police to bring these criminals to justice."

Scenes echoed those in other areas of the capital over the past two nights, with skirmishes between gangs of youths and police, reportedly prompted by a stop and search incident earlier on Monday.

In Hackney, rioters, many wearing hoods and masks, were confronted by police lines spanning the streets, occasionally moving forward to push the groups back.

As the clashes erupted an officer could be seen lying on the ground after being struck on his shield by a missile.

Other officers came under fire from objects including chairs and pieces of wood.

At one point several people broke into the back of a stationary lorry, pulling its contents out on to the road, with some hurling it at police and others using it to smash windows of a bus.

South of the river in Peckham, teams of riot officers were seen charging at fleeing troublemakers after a major fire was started at a shop adjoining a Greggs bakery.

A nearby bus was also set on fire while TV footage showed a trail of bins and an abandoned vehicle ablaze in Lewisham.

A string of buildings in Croydon, south London, were set on fire. Vast plumes of smoke could be seen rising over the area for miles.

The violence spread to leafy suburbs including East Dulwich and Clapham where looters preyed on shops and caused widespread disruption.

Eyewitness Alan McCabe, a landlord from Croydon, said: "I have never seen such a disregard for human life. I hope they rot in hell. The grief they have caused people, the fear they have put in people's hearts, decent people who have done nothing to anyone."

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh Mr Kavanagh also apologised to the family of shooting victim Mark Duggan - whose death sparked the original violence - for not managing their "needs" better as he warned that rioters "will not be tolerated".

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who returned from holiday on Monday, condemned the violence earlier as "completely unacceptable" after walking down part of Tottenham High Road and speaking with business owners.

London mayor Boris Johnson also interrupted his family holiday in North America to return to the capital to deal with the situation.

Consecutive days of violence came after a peaceful protest in Tottenham on Saturday, which followed the fatal shooting of Mr Duggan, 29, on Thursday.

Sunday night's looting across London was carried out by "small and mobile" groups, Scotland Yard said.

© 2011 AP
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