British PM vows to restore order
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Xinhua, August 9, 2011
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday vowed to do "whatever is necessary" to restore order to the streets of Britain, troubled by the worst riots in the living memory of many British citizens.
Address the press Tuesday noon after cutting short of his holiday in Italy earlier in the day, Cameron described the "sickening scenes" caused by the rioters as "criminality pure and simple."
The Prime Minister, who chaired a meeting of the national disaster management committee, the Cobra Committee, at his Downing Street office, also said he would recalled the Parliament from its summer recess on Thursday, so that he could make a statement regarding the rioting.
All leave for police were canceled, according to Cameron, who pledged to bring in reinforcements from around the country. Ten thousand extra police officers would be deployed in London, bringing the total number to 16,000.
450 people had been arrested, he said, promising should the violence continue.
"I am determined, the government is determined, to see justice done," Cameron said.
"You (The rioters) will feel the full force of the law. If you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment," the Prime Minister said in his televised speech.
The three days' of riots began Saturday when a peaceful protest led by relatives of 29-year-old Mark Duggan, who was shot dead on Thursday night in a police raid in the Tottenham area of north London, turned violent.
In London, hooded young people ransacked shops, burned cars and buildings, and attacked police officers with stones, bottles and fireworks.
The London Fire Brigade Tuesday said it had 15 times the normal number of phone calls on Monday night, while the Metropolitan Police said it had a 400 percent increase in calls.
By Tuesday, the rioting had spread to other major British cities including Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.
Police have asked that all football matches in London this week, which each require a significant police presence and usually take place in the early evening on weekdays, to be postponed.
A friendly game between England and Holland, due Wednesday evening at the Wembley Stadium in north London, not far from some scenes of violence on Tuesday night, was cancelled.
In another development, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which investigates serious issues involving the police, said it was looking into the shooting of Duggan. The investigation, however, might take between four and six months.
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