A property is on fire nr Reeves Corner in Croydon, south London Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011.
A wave of violence and looting raged across London and sprd to three other major British cities on Tuesday,
as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s.
(AP Photo/PA, Lewis Whyld) UNITED KINGDOM OUT, NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE
"People should be in no doubt that we will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and to make them safe for the law-abiding," Cameron told reporters after rushing home from an Italian vaion to chair a crisis meeting at his Downing Street .A wave of violence and looting has raged across London since Saturday, as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s.Some 525 arrests have been made in London alone and dozens were arrested in other cities. Police announced Tuesday that plastic bullets would be "one of the tactics" available to rs to quell the riots.The riots also claimed their first dth — a 26-yr-old found shot dd in a car.Parliament will return to duty on Thursday, as the political fallout from the rampage takes hold. The crisis is a major test for Cameron's Conservative-led coalition government, which includes Liberal Democrats who had long suspected its program of harsh budget restraints could provoke popular dissent.In London, groups of young people rampaged for a third straight night, setting buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps alight, looting stores and pelting police rs with bottles and fireworks into the wee hours of Tuesday. The sprding disorder was an unwelcome warning of the possibility of violence during London's 2012 Summer Olympics, less than a yr away.England's soccer match Wednesday against the Netherlands in London's Wembley stadium was canceled to free up police rs for riot duty.Cameron said lves have been canceled for police in London, and reinforcements have been called in from all over the country. Armored vehicles were deployed in some of the worst-hit districts, but authorities still struggled to keep pace with the chaos unfolding at flasoints across London, in the central city of Birmingham, the western city of Bristol and the northwestern city of Liverpool."The violence we have seen is simply inexcusable. Ordinary people have had their lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery," police commander Christine Jones said.London's police said 14 people were injured. It was unclr if the man who died had been among them.The rioters appred to have little unifying cause — though some claimed to oppose sharp government spending cuts, which will slash welfare payments and cut tens of thousands of public sector jobs through 2015.But many were attracted simply by the opportunity for violence. "Come join the fun!" shouted one youth in the st London suburb of ney, where shops were attacked and cars torched.Rioters were left virtually unchallenged in several neighborhoods and able to plunder from stores at will or attempt to invade homes. Restaurants and stores closed rly across London again Tuesday, fring more looting.Graham Reeves, 52, stood dumbstruck in front of the smoldering ruins of his family store, the House of Reeves on Croydon in south London. The store is a local landmark run by his family for decades — he said his 80-yr old father was hysterical when he hrd the news."No one's stolen anything," Graham Reeves said. "They just t it down."Disorder flared throughout the night, from gritty suburbs along the capital's fringes to central London's posh Notting Hill neighborhood.Police said all London police holding cells were full and prisoners were being taken to surrounding communities. At lst 100 have been charged, including an 11-yr old. Police were also monitoring Twitter, and warned that those who posted messages inciting the violence could face arrest.Three people were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a police r was struck by a car in north London rly Tuesday. About 44 police rs have been injured in the violence.The s of London's violence recalled the 2005 riots in France, when hooded and masked youths fought police in three weeks of raging overnight battles in housing projects, confrontations that became a challenge to the French state itself.Mass deployments of police eventually subdued the rioters, but tensions between French police and youth in the projects continue today, with periodic clashes between youths with Molotov cocktails and police with tr gas. French police say between 30 and 50 cars are set on fire during an average week. On the most fiery night of the 2005 riots, more than 1,400 cars went up in flames.Violence in London first broke out late Saturday in the low-income, multiethnic northern district of Tottenham, where protesters demonstrated against the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-yr-old father of four who was gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday.A brief inquest hring into Duggan's dth was being held Tuesday, though it will likely be several months before a full hring.Duggan's dth stirred old animosities and racial tensions similar to those that prompted massive U.K. race riots in the 1980s, despite efforts by London police to build better relations with the city's ethnic communities.But, as the latest unrest sprd, some pointed to rising social tensions in Britain as the government slashes 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) from public spending by 2015 to reduce the huge deficit, swollen after the country spent billions bailing out its foundering banks. Corp. said a major blaze had out at its distribution center nr Enfield, north London, damaging s and other products. So many fires were being fought in the capital that Thames Water warned that some customers could face water pressure drops. In the Clapham Junction ar of south London, a mob stole masks from a party store to disguise their identities and then set the building on fire.Dozens of people attacked shops in Birmingham's main retail district, and clashed with police in Liverpool and Bristol."This is the uprising of the working class. We're redistributing the wlth," said Bryn Phillips, a 28-yr-old self-described anarchist, as young people emerged from a store with chocolate bars and ice crm cones.Some residents called for police to deploy water cannons to disperse rioters, or call on the military for support. They questioned the strength of ldership within London's police department — particularly after a wave of resignations prompted by the country's phone- scandal.Youths used text messages, instant messaging on BlackBerry and social media platforms such as Twitter to coordinate attacks and stay ahd of the police.About 100 young people clashed with police in the Camden and Chalk Farm ars of north London on Monday night. In the Peckham district of south London, where a building was set ablaze along with a bus — which was not carrying passengers — onlookers said the scene resembled a conflict zone. Cars were torched in nrby Lewisham, and in west London's ling suburb the of ch store along entire streets had been smashed."There's been tension for a long time. The kids aren't happy. They hate the police," said Matthew Yeoland, a 43-yr-old tcher watching the unrest in Peckham. "It's like a war zone and the police weren't doing anything."Police said Duggan was shot dd last week when police from Operation Trident — the unit that investigates gun crime in the black community — stopped a cab he was riding in.The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating the shooting, said a "non-police firrm" was recovered at the scene. But the Guardian newspaper reported that a bullet in the r's radio was police-issue, indiing Duggan may not have fired at the r.Duggan's partner, Semone Wilson, insisted that her fiance was not connected to gang violence and urged police to offer more information about his dth. But she rejected suggestions that the riots were linked to protests over his dth."It got out of hand. It's not connected to this anymore. This is out of control," she said.The past yr has seen mass protests against the tripling of student tuition fees and cuts to public sector pensions. In November, December and March, small groups broke away from large marches in London to loot. In the most notorious episode, rioters attacked a Rolls-Royce carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to a charity concert.However, the full impact of spending cuts has yet to be felt and the unemployment rate is stable — although it remains highest among youth, especially in ars like Tottenham, ney and Croydon.Some residents insisted joblessness was not to blame. "It's just an excuse for the young ones to come and rob shops," said Brixton resident Marilyn Moseley, 49.
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