London riots: Looting and violence continues

Journalist Paraic O'Brien told BBC Radio 5 live that he saw up to 200 youths charging at riot polic

There has been a continuing wave of “copycat criminal activity” across London in a second night of looting and disorder following riots in Tottenham.

More than 100 people have been arrested as officers were attacked, police vehicles damaged and shops looted and damaged in parts of London.

Disorder spread to Enfield, Walthamstow and Waltham Forest in north London and to Brixton in the south of the city.

Some 35 officers have been injured over the two nights of rioting.

Three officers were hurt when a vehicle hit them as they tried to make an arrest in Waltham Forest, east London.

Clashes broke out in Enfield, north London, on Sunday evening where shop windows were smashed and a police car damaged.

There have been reports of a gang of up to 200 youths looting shops and charging police in Coldharbour Lane and the High Street in Brixton, south London.

• Three officers injured after being hit by a vehicle in Chingford Mount, Waltham Forest, at about 00:45 BST
• More than 30 youths vandalising and looting a number of shops in Walthamstow and Waltham Forest
• Vandalism carried out by about 50 youths in Oxford Circus, central London
• A police vehicle being attacked in Islington, north London
• A Tesco store in Ponders End being attacked and items stolen

Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor of London and Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, described the scenes of the last two nights as “disgusting and shocking” and said the police did a good job. He added: “Obviously there are people in this city, sadly, who are intent on violence, who are looking for the opportunity to steal and set fire to buildings and create a sense of mayhem, whether they’re anarchists or part of organised gangs or just feral youth frankly, who fancy a new pair of trainers.”Talking about the impact on the capital’s image, one year ahead of the Olympic Games, he said: “It’s pretty rotten for London, it does not look good.

‘Rocks and bottles’

BBC London’s Paraic O’Brien said he had witnessed widespread looting in Brixton.

He said: “They smashed a William Hill, they set bins on fire.

“And now what we’re seeing as the night progresses is that replicated, sort of flashpoints all along Brixton High Street……..

At the scene

I saw the rioting in Tottenham on Saturday and I saw the rioting last night and it was certainly different in character.

What might have been started in Tottenham by youngsters aggrieved about what they saw as police persecution has become something very different in nature.

Last night there was a sense that the looting, and violence and disorder across London was being co-ordinated on social media
.Police said “copycat” violence spread to other parts of London on Sunday night and early Monday, including the main shopping district at Oxford Circus.

There were people in their cars, youngsters on bicycles, moving very rapidly, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. As soon as you moved to one location they would move on to the next one.

The police were doing their best to catch up with them. You had police vehicles going backwards and forwards, blue lights flashing, riot police coming out of their vehicles.

Ten minutes later they’d get back in again and go off to the next location – essentially trying to fight the fires, metaphorically, that were spreading all over London.

“I’m standing outside Halfords on the other side of the road and they’ve just smashed through the doors of Halfords. They’re taking bikes out the front entrance.

“I have to say, what really struck me was the small number of police officers that there actually seem to be on Brixton High Street responding to this.”

Press Association photographer Lewis Whyld saw looters battle police at a Currys store in Brixton.

He said: “A couple of hundred youths were rioting and looting. Riot police went in to get them out and there was a big fight in the street.

“Youths were throwing rocks and bottles and there was a bin on fire. They used a fire extinguisher to push the police back so they could get back into Currys and continue taking things out.”

London Fire Brigade said it had been called to a number of fires in Enfield, Brixton and Walthamstow, including a fire at a shop on Brixton Road, which is now under control.

Tube closure

The disorder follows rioting in Tottenham which broke out on Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning.

A peaceful protest over the fatal shooting by police on Thursday of 29-year-old Mark Duggan descended into violence later in the evening.

The unrest spread into nearby Wood Green and Tottenham Hale. Shops were attacked and looted, 26 police officers and three others were injured and buildings and vehicles were set alight.

police warned the public not to trust everything they saw on the Internet

Social networking websites swirled with rumors of other riots beginning or being planned in other areas of the city, but police warned the public not to trust everything they saw on the Internet - adding that officers were keeping a close eye on what was being said online as well.
The violence has cast a pall over a city preparing to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Currys store was one of many in Brixton that were attacked

Parts of Tottenham are still cordoned off, as officers and forensic specialists continue to examine the riot scene.

A total of 61 arrests have been made in connection with the first night of rioting. The majority were for burglary, and other offences including violent disorder, robbery, theft and handling stolen goods.

Sixteen people have been charged for offences including burglary, violent disorder and possession of a pointed or bladed weapon following the Tottenham riots.

As well as Mr Duggan, a police officer was also shot in Thursday’s incident, which happened in what was called a “pre-planned” event, under Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in London’s African and Caribbean communities.

Police had stopped a minicab which Mr Duggan had been travelling in.

Attack' on teenage girl blamed for start of riot
A rumoured attack on a teenage girl by police has been widely blamed for triggering Saturday night’s riot.

She was then allegedly knocked to the ground, and as the crowds retaliated it led to two squad cars being set alight at the start of a night of violent disturbances and looting.

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Rioters face off with riot police officers on the streets in Tottenham, north London, on Sunday Aug. 7, 2011 Photo: AP

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