Trouble erupts in English cities

9 August 2011 Last updated at 18:25 ET

Sporadic violence has broken out in several cities around England, although London remains largely quiet with a heavy police presence on the streets.

Some 16,000 police officers have been deployed on London’s streets in a bid to prevent a fourth night of rioting.

However, disturbances have been seen in Manchester, Salford, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham with shops being looted and set alight.

The PM is recalling Parliament in response to the “sickening scenes”.

Fifteen people have been arrested so far over trouble in Manchester and Salford where crowds of ths have set fire to buildings and cars.

Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said his force had faced “extraordinary levels of violence from groups of criminals intent on committing widespread disorder” on Tuesday.

In other developments:

• A Miss Selfridge store was set on fire in Manchester city centre, where some outbreaks of violence and looting are still being reported
• Disturbances have taken place in the West Midlands with police making 20 arrests following sporadic disorder in Wolverhampton, while ths have smashed shop windows and set cars alight in nearby West Bromwich
• A BBC radio car was set on fire in Salford and a TV cameramen has been attacked
• In Birmingham, riot police have surrounded the Mailbox, the city’s high-end shopping centre, following the disturbances seen in the area on Monday night. Some 500 officers are on duty in the centre on Tuesday evening
• Canning Circus police station in central Nottingham was firebombed by a male gang on Tuesday evening
• The Metropolitan police force has released what it says will be the “first of many” CCTV images of rioting suspects, while 32 people have appeared in court charged with offences such as burglary and criminal damage during the previous riots. Eighteen were remanded in custody. So far 563 people have been arrested and 105 charged in connection with violence in the capital
• A 26-year-old man found shot in a car in Croydon, amid rioting in the south London town, has died in hospital
• Meanwhile, two 18-year-olds were arrested in Folkestone, Kent, and a 16-year-old was being questioned in Glasgow on suspicion of inciting violence through internet social networking s.
• The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said on Tuesday that ballistic tests presented “no evidence” that a handgun found at the scene where Mr Duggan was killed had been fired at officers
• Around London, stores in Peckham, Rotherhithe, Ealing and Hackney were reported to have closed early on Tuesday and some small theatres in the capital also cancelled performances, although West End productions were scheduled to go ahead
• England and Holland’s friendly at Wembley on Wednesday has also been called off.

Salford MP Hazel Blears said local police had assured her that officers’ shifts had been extended and that “every effort” was being made to get all available police on the streets.

She also told the BBC that the “wall-to-wall” coverage of the violence may have encouraged more lawlessness.

Wounded officers

Some 111 Met officers have suffered injuries including serious head and eye wounds, cuts and fractured bones after being attacked by rioters wielding bottles, planks, bricks and even driving cars at them. Five police dogs have also been hurt.

However, Scotland Yard has drafted in special constables and community support officers to ensure five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday will be on duty. Similar staffing levels will be maintained over three days.

Mr Cameron met officers in the Met Police’s Gold command in Lambeth on Tuesday afternoon, before speaking to emergency service personnel in Croydon.

He condemned the “sickening scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing”.

He told rioters: “ will feel the full force of the law. And if are old enough to commit these crimes, are old enough to face the punishment.”

The recall of Parliament on Thursday will allow MPs to “stand together in condemnation of these crimes and to stand together in determination to rebuild these communities”, he said.

The prime minister returned early from his holiday in Tuscany to discuss the unrest, which first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, by police.

London has seen a wave of “copycat criminal activity” since the initial disturbance, the Met Police said.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said the use of plastic bullets – never before fired to deal with riots in England – would be “considered carefully” in the event of further disorder.

‘No Army’

But he added: “That does not mean we are scared of using any tactic.”

Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin had earlier ruled out calling in the Army.

Officers believe some rioters have used BlackBerry Messenger – a service allowing users to send free real-time messages – to organise violence.

Monday’s disturbances included:

• Violence and looting reported across London, including in Hackney, Croydon, Clapham Junction, Peckham, Lewisham, Stratford and Ealing
• Three people being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was injured by a car in Wembley, north-west London, while trying to stop suspected looters
• Buildings set alight in several areas, including Croydon where part of the Tramlink service was suspended
• In Birmingham, 138 people were arrested after scores of ths smashed windows and looted shops in the shopping area
• West Midlands Police said a police station in Holyhead Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was set alight
• Up to 200 ths with masks roamed through Toxteth in Liverpool, while Bristol police said they dealt with outbreaks of disorder involving about 150 people
• A Nottinghamshire police station was attacked in the St Ann’s area and 200 tyres were set alight in the street
• Police dealt with “small pockets of disorder” in the Chapeltown area of Leeds

The Association of British Insurers says the damage is likely to cost insurers “tens of millions of pounds”.

Monday’s violence started in Hackney, north London, at about 16:20 BST after a man was stopped and searched by police, who found nothing.

Groups of people began attacking officers, wrecking cars with wooden poles and metal bars, and looting shops. Violence then flared separately in other parts of the capital.

‘No justification’

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who also cut short a holiday to return, was heckled by the members of the public while viewing damage in Clapham Junction on Tuesday.

Some people have complained there have been too few police to deal with the violence.

Mr Johnson told those gathered that those responsible for the violence “face punishment they will bitterly, bitterly regret”.

However, when challenged to do more for communities, Mr Johnson rejected “economic or social justifications” for the violence.

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