Prime Minister David Cameron insisted Wednesday, saying police would take all steps available to stop days of rioting. “We will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order onto our streets,” Cameron said in an address to the nation. “Nothing is off the table. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
@WiL
Among the tactics being considered was bringing in water cannons to quell unrest.
Thousands of extra cops prowled the streets in an eerily quiet London Tuesday night after three nights of violence, but looting flared up in Birmingham and Manchester.
Police in Birmingham had opened a criminal probe into the death of three men who were hit and killed by a car.
More than 1,200 people have been arrested and scores of stores ransacked and set on fire.
But Tuesday’s show of force – with almost triple the normal number of cops on the streets of London – appears to have worked.
“There were significant arrests,” said police deputy assistant chief constable Stephen Kavanagh. “Some looters were taken away before they got into doing anything.”
While the violence continued in other cities, the scale was far less.
The three men killed in Birmingham were members of the South Asian community and were reportedly patrolling their neighborhood to keep out looters.
“They lost their lives for other people, doing the job of the police,” said Mohammed Shakiel. “They were protecting the community.”
Police said an arrest has been made.
The unrest has cast a pall over next summer’s Olympic Games in London and has many questioning whether Cameron’s beleaguered government mishandled the situation.
Many have said communities were left to protect themselves from rampaging hooligans who were virtually unchallenged by police.
A YouGov poll found that 57% felt Cameron had dealt with the situation badly, while 85% believe either a majority or most of those taking part in the riots will go unpunished, SkyNews reported.
The violence first erupted in northern London Saturday night after a protest over the police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan.
