Britain burns: Riots spread through UK cities

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Britain burns: Riots spread through UK cities

By DAVID STRINGER - Associated Press,RAPHAEL G. SATTER - Associated Press | AP –

26 mins ago.

(AP) — A chaotic wave of violence and looting raged across London and spread 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.

In London, groups of young people rampaged for a third straight night, setting

buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps alight, looting stores and pelting police

officers with bottles and fireworks. The spreading disorder was an unwelcome

reminder of London's volatility for leaders organizing the 2012 Summer Olympics

in less than a year.

Police called in hundreds of reinforcements — and made a rare decision to deploy

armored vehicles in some of the worst-hit districts — but still struggled to

keep pace with the chaos unfolding at flashpoints across London, in the central

city of Birmingham, the western city of Bristol and the northwestern city of

Liverpool.

The riots appeared to have little unifying cause — though some involved in the

violence claimed to oppose sharp government spending cuts, which will savage

welfare payments and see tens of thousands of public sector jobs lost through

2015.

Others appeared attracted simply by the opportunity for violence. " Come join the

fun, " shouted one youth, racing along a street in the east London suburb of

Hackney, where shops were attacked and cars torched.

Prime Minister Cameron cut short his summer vacation in Italy — reversing

an earlier decision to continue his break — and headed home for a meeting of the

national crisis committee on Tuesday morning.

The crisis appeared likely to create a major test of Cameron's coalition

government, which includes some members who had long suspected its program of

tough budget restraints could provoke popular dissent.

Cameron was expected to seek to toughen the response against the violence in

meetings with ministers and police chiefs on Tuesday, with some communities

complaining that stretched police were simply unable to reach some centers of

the fast-spreading unrest.

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 early across London, fearful of looting.

Disorder flared throughout the night, from gritty suburbs along the capital's

fringes to central London's famously glitzy Notting Hill neighborhood. London's

Ambulance Service said it had treated 16 patients, of whom 15 were hospitalized.

Police said 334 people had been arrested and 69 people charged with offenses.

Violence first broke out late Saturday in the low-income, multiethnic district

of Tottenham in north London, where outraged protesters demonstrated against the

fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four who was

gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday.

Duggan's death stirred old animosities and racial tensions — similar to those

that prompted massive riots in the 1980s — despite efforts by London police to

build better relations with the city's ethnic communities after high-profile

cases of racism in recent decades.

A brief inquest hearing into Duggan's death will take place tomorrow, though it

will likely be several months before a full hearing is convened.

As the unrest spread, 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.

In the south London district of Croydon, police said a 26-year-old man was shot

and seriously injured Monday but were unable to say immediately whether the

incident was linked to rioting there.

A massive blaze ravaged a 100-year-old family run furniture store in Croydon and

sent thick plumes of smoke into the air, forcing nearby homes to be evacuated.

In the Clapham Junction area of south London, a mob stole masks from a fancy

dress store to disguise their identities and then set the building on fire.

Sony Corp. said a major blaze had broken out at its distribution center near

Enfield, north London, damaging stocks of DVDs and other products. So many fires

were being fought in the capital that Thames Water, which supplies most of

London, warned that some of its customers could see their water pressure drop.

Dozens of people attacked shops in Birmingham's main retail district, and

clashed with police in Liverpool and Bristol — spreading the chaos beyond London

for the first time.

In Hackney, hundreds of youths left a trail of burning trash and shattered

glass. Looters ransacked a small convenience store, filling plastic shopping

bags with alcohol, cigarettes, candy and toilet paper.

" This is the uprising of the working class. We're redistributing the wealth, "

said Bryn , a 28-year-old self-described anarchist, as young people

emerged from the store with chocolate bars and ice cream cones.

claimed rioters were motivated by distrust of the police, and drew a

link between the rage on London's street and insurgent right-wing politics in

the United States. " In America you have the tea party, in England you've got

this, " he said.

Police acknowledged Tuesday that major new bouts of violence had flared in at

least five locations, badly stretching their resources.

" The violence we have seen is simply inexcusable. Ordinary people have had their

lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery, " police commander

said.

Though the unrest escalated through Sunday as disorder spread among neighboring

areas, the crisis worsened Monday — with violence touching areas in the east and

south of London previously untroubled by the chaos.

Some residents called for police to deploy water cannons to disperse rioters, or

call on the military for support and questioned the strength of leadership

within London's police department — particularly after a wave of resignations

prompted by the country's phone-hacking scandal.

" 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, " said Alan McCabe, a resident in Croydon

watching the violence unfold.

About 100 young people clashed early Tuesday with police in the Camden and Chalk

Farm areas of north London, smashing their way into a bicycle store and mobile

phone shop.

The small groups of youths — most with their heads and faces covered — used SMS

messages, instant messaging on BlackBerry smartphones and social media platforms

such as Twitter to coordinate their attacks and stay ahead of the police.

Once the preserve of businesspeople, BlackBerry handsets are popular with

teenagers, thanks to their free, fast instant messaging system. Blackberry's

manufacturer, Research in Motion, said in a statement that it was assisting

authorities in their investigation and " feel for those impacted by the riots in

London. "

Police were also monitoring Twitter, and warned that those who posted messages

inciting the violence could face arrest.

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 nearby ham, and in west

London's Ealing suburb the windows of each 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 Yeoland, a 43-year-old teacher watching the unrest in

Peckham. " It's like a war zone and the police weren't doing anything. There were

too many people and not enough police. "

Police said Duggan was shot dead 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 firearm " was recovered at the scene, and media

reports said a bullet had been found in an officer's radio. However, the

Guardian newspaper reported that the bullet in the radio was police-issue,

indicating Duggan may not have fired at the officer.

Duggan's partner, Semone , insisted Monday that her fiance was not

connected to gang violence and urged police to offer more information about his

death. But she rejected suggestions that the escalating riots were linked to

protests over his death. " It got out of hand. It's not connected to this

anymore. This is out of control, " she said.

" It's nothing to do with the man who was shot, is it? " said 37-year-old Marcia

, who has lived in Tottenham, an ethnically diverse north London

neighborhood, all her life. " A lot of youths ... heard there was a protest and

joined in. Others used it as an opportunity to kit themselves out, didn't they,

with shoes and T-shirts and everything. "

The past year 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 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 areas like Tottenham, Hackney and Croydon.

Some people caught up in the unrest insisted that 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.

Police urged communities to help clear the streets of people, and called on

families to contact their children and ensure that they were not involved in the

chaos. An 11-year-old boy was charged with burglary by police, and at least 100

of those arrested were aged 21 or younger. About 35 police officers had been

injured in the violence, police said.

Home Secretary Theresa May, the Cabinet minister responsible for policing, and

London Mayor Boris also cut short summer vacations in an attempt to deal

with the crisis.

Police in the city of Birmingham, 120 miles (195 kilometers) north of London,

confirmed that officers had arrested 35 people amid disorder across the city

center, where shops were being vandalized. In Bristol, police urged residents to

avoid the city center after 150 rioters went on the rampage.

In the south London neighborhood of Brixton — the scene of riots in the 1980s

and 1990s — youths smashed windows, attacked a police car, set fire to garbage

bins and stole video games, sportswear and other goods from stores on Sunday

night.

Tottenham and Brixton are impoverished areas with ethnically diverse

populations, large black communities and histories of unrest.

Tottenham was the site of the 1985 Broadwater Farm riots, a series of clashes

that led to the fatal stabbing of a police officer and the wounding of nearly 60

others — and underscored tensions between London police and the capital's black

community.

On Saturday, two police cars and a double-decker bus were set alight, stores

were looted and several buildings along Tottenham's main street — five miles

(eight kilometers) from the site of the 2012 Olympics — were reduced to

smoldering shells.

West Ham, a football team in east London, confirmed it had canceled a match

planned for Tuesday as a precaution. However, the national Football Association

insisted that a scheduled international friendly match between England and the

Netherlands would go ahead at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday.

The International Olympic Committee insisted it had confidence in British

authorities. " Security at the Olympic Games is a top priority for the IOC, "

spokesman Mark said.

Jill Lawless, Meera Selva, and Dancia Kirka contributed to this

report.