Riots are continuing to spread across Britain following a fourth night of violence in which nearly 500 protesters were arrested as demonstrations wracked some of the nation's largest cities.
British Prime Minister David Cameron met Wednesday for a second time in 24 hours with an emergency committee as the government searched for a way to quell the nationwide violence. Speaking from Downing Street, Cameron told reporters, “We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on the streets,” adding, “We will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order onto our streets. Nothing is off the table.”
Police were authorized to use batons and preparations are being made to deploy water cannons if need be, he said. More than 1,000 arrests have been made, with at least 167 people being slapped with criminal charges. Three people died in the violence overnight, although initial reports indicated that two had lost their lives.
Young people damaged property, looted and torched stores and cars in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Leicester Tuesday evening while waging battles with police. Liverpool, Salford, West Bromwich, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton, Harlesden and Gloucester were also affected. Among the stores targeted was a Marks & Spencer in Birmingham and a Miss Selfridge clothing store in Manchester. Outbreaks were reported also in Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Toxteth and Gloucestershire.
A crowd of men firebombed a police station in the central British city of Nottingham, Al Jazeera reported, but no one was injured. Ten police cars were also damaged in the city. Four fire engines were attacked by youths hurling bricks in Liverpool, according police sources quoted by Reuters.
Many business owners in London elected to close their establishments early in hopes of avoiding attacks by the gangs of youths roaming the streets, according to a report published in the Guardian. Jews in the capital's Stamford Hill neighborhood have been advised not to walk alone when going to and from synagogue.
In the southwest region of the country, meanwhile, police reportedly came under attack by gangs.
The initial violence, which ignited Saturday night in the northern London suburb of Tottenham, allegedly came in response to an incident in which police shot and killed 29-year-old Mark Duggan last Thursday.
However, international businessman and part-time local resident William G., who requested that his last name be withheld for security purposes, said the real underlying issue has to do with the economy.
“The British government has been struggling with the issue of welfare benefits for some time,” he told Arutz Sheva in a telephone interview Tuesday night. The government, which recently clamped down on welfare payments, has slashed spending and raised taxes to deal with the budget deficit. “Many people are in bad economic shape, including a large percentage of the immigrant sector from Africa. They are unemployed, and they are angry,” William added. %ad%
Three men died early Wednesday in Birmingham after they were hit by a car during riots, the BBC reported. The three allegedly had just emerged from a mosque and were protecting their neighborhood. Police said a murder investigation was under way. Earlier this week, a 26-year-old man was found shot in his vehicle in Croydon. He later died of his wounds.
Cameron has also recalled the Parliament from its summer recess to an emergency session set for Thursday to discuss the situation. “Many more” arrests are expected, he said, as police sift through thousands of hours of security camera videotape seeking those responsible for the upheaval.
“You will feel the full force of the law,” Cameron warned young protesters. “And if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment.”