Further riots in London as violence spreads across England

Comments (1125)

Click to play
Advertisement

Amateur footage appears to show a gang of youths charging at police in south-east London
Continue reading the main story
England riots

* Cameron riots statement Live
* 10 explanations for the riots
* Map with video and timeline
* PC speaks out about taking on mob

Rioting has spread across London on a third night of violence, with unrest flaring in other English cities.

An extra 1,700 police officers were deployed in London, where shops were looted and buildings were set alight.

Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol also saw violence.

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

At least 400 people have been arrested following a wave of "copycat criminal activity" across London over the past three days, the Met Police said. More than 69 people have been charged with various offences.

Three people are 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.

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steven Kavanagh said it was a "shocking and appalling morning for London to wake up to".

"The Met was stretched beyond belief in a way that it has never experienced before," he told BBC Breakfast.

Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin ruled out bringing in the Army to help police tackle the violence, but said: "We will be out there in ever greater numbers tonight."

On Twitter, Scotland Yard said: "In the next 24 hours there will be 13,000 police officers on duty in London."

In other developments:

* David Cameron is chairing the government's emergency committee Cobra to discuss the riots and will also meet Home Secretary Theresa May and Metropolitan Police Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin
* Tube stations in the capital that were closed following the riots have now reopened
* The Tramlink service between East Croydon and Wandle Park has been suspended as a result of the fire at Reeves Corner
* Elsewhere, 100 people have been arrested in Birmingham after scores of youths rampaged through the shopping area, smashing windows and looting from shops
* West Midlands Police said a police station in Holyhead Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was set on fire
* There were reports of cars being damaged in Manchester and of up to 200 youths with masks roaming through Toxteth in Liverpool
* Police in Bristol said they were dealing with outbreaks of disorder involving about 150 people
* Nottinghamshire Police said a police station was attacked in the St Ann's area and 200 tyres were set alight in the street
* "Small pockets of disorder" were dealt with by police in the Chapeltown area of Leeds overnight

Fire crews douse burnt out buildings on London Road in Croydon, Surrey Met commander Christine Jones said the violence was "simply inexcusable"

Monday's violence started in Hackney after a man was stopped and searched by police but nothing was found.

Groups of people began attacking the police in Hackney at about 16:20 BST, throwing stones and a bin at officers.

Police cars were smashed by youths armed with wooden poles and metal bars. Looters also smashed their way into shops before being dispersed by police.

Nine police forces from other parts of the country have assisted in providing support to the capital city, as well as the City of London Police and British Transport Police.

However, eyewitnesses have reported that as trouble spread across the city, there were often few police officers around when violence flared.

national lottery numbers
sbobet