Over 1,400 riot suspects in court

23 August 2011 Last updated at 08:37 ET

Courts have been sitting at weekends to cope with the volume of suspects facing prosecution

More than 1,400 people have appeared in court in connection with the riots that spread across England’s towns and cities two weeks ago, new figures show.

The latest data from the Ministry of Justice show that, of these, 157 have been convicted, 327 bailed and almost 800 remanded in custody.

This rate of 62% being held in custody compares with the usual rate of 10% of those appearing before a magistrate.

During the riots, shops were looted, buildings burned and five people died.

The new figures come as the Metropolitan Police have been defending themselves against reports that officers were told to hold everyone arrested in custody and bail no-one.

The Guardian has published a leaked document, called Operation Withern: Prisoner Processing Strategy, which was circulated among Met officers investigating the disturbances at their height.

It suggested using certain phrases to help secure a charge, including: “A strategic decision has been made by the MPS [the Met] that, in all cases, an application will be made for remand in custody both at the police station, and later in court.”

Another suggested line was that cautions and other means of judicial disposal were not considered appropriate in this case.

However, the Met has denied the guidance for officers suggested that everyone arrested should be held in custody or that cautions or other disposals were inappropriate.

A spokesman for the London force cited newly-released figures showing 623 people were bailed to return pending further inquiries, 17 were cautioned and 10 were given a th reprimand, cannabis warning or fixed penalty notice.

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