London Riots (ETA post #23: Brits, please sign the petition to axe rioters' benefits)

[moosmom]

Zara,

You will be in my prayers, honey. Be safe and please let us know if your flatmate is okay.

and hugs,

Donna and fur crew

[Freedom]

I'm glad you posted, Zara, as I immediately thought of you, but wasn't sure if you were back at school yet.

With the Olympics coming up, this is really quite sad indeed. Folks have so much to be looking forward to, there.

And at least on our news, they can't quite figure out why all the anger. Yes, there was a police shooting, but the opportunists seem to have taken over.

[Asiel]

My friend sent me some pictures and a news video about this. I could hardly believe it, Britain is usually so laid back - but they have been having some trouble lately. I found this so sad , but terrifying also.

[Barbara]

I can't believe I have been in London last week from Thursday to Saturday and didn't notice a thing- of course it was Saturday when it all started. I think it is horrible- it happens in so many European cities: Paris, Copenhagen, London. Things are certainly difficult in the world right now.

[Miss Z]

Thank you, everyone. Thankfully, I am not in London for now, and am safe back home in Lancashire.

I'm so shocked that Camden, a town that I've really come to love, could have been the scene of such violence. I kept an eye on news reports last night into the early hours, and it seems police managed to contain it in the High Street at least, so as far as I know, no damage has been caused to the veterinary college, or further afield where my flat is situated.

My flatmate is safe, also. She managed to get home from work in central London in time before things really kicked off, and her family stayed indoors. She described how she could hear the police sirens and news helicopters for hours into the night.

The riots spread to other cities last night - Bristol and Nottingham have also had rioting and I've also heard from a few friends that things are beginning to get ugly in Manchester, which is a bit close to home, although nothing on the news about that yet.

Here is the latest report:

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 Brent, 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.

When asked at what stage he would consider bringing in the Army, he responded by saying "all options are being considered".

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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14450248

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I am just.... seething over this.

I actually feel embarassed of being British right now, or indeed, I should say English. We've shown that we've got a country full of morons. Looters have actually been using social networking sites to show off their plunder - I mean, how thick can you get?

The vast majority don't know what they're rioting for and have taken advantage of a cause they probably don't care about anyway.

May they all feel the back hand of the law.

[blue]

Wasnt the "victim" of the police shooting killed for shooting at the police?

[Medusa]

Zara, my friend Clare who lives in Essex but goes to university in London has been updating me on this. She's furious as well. You should feel no shame; it happens everywhere in every country, especially now. Having visited London last year for a couple of weeks, I can honestly say that it's a most wonderful city. I had the time of my life. We're just glad that you're safe.

[Miss Z]

Thanks for the positive thoughts, everyone. Still safe, and so are my nearest and dearest.

As Chris said, the copycat violence has been ongoing, sadly. Yes, London was better last night, after 16,000 police officers were drafted in to patrol the streets. There were isolated incidents but no where near on the scale of previous nights.

Last night, Manchester and Salford were attacked, which was a little close to home. The Arndale shopping centre saw violence, which made me wonder how so many more people weren't injured, being in a contained area. The Arndale, and Deepdale and Piccadilly Gardens areas of Manchester are particularly popular in the school holidays with groups of young teenagers out for the day with their friends. I know, since I used to do just the same! I would have been pretty scared at, say, 13, to end up caught up in a riot.

Gloucester and Leicester also saw incidents - never thought of Gloucester as a bad area before...

It seems the whole country is watching in disbelief and disgust as this violence continues. I think there's going to be a lot of anger when all this blows over. And a lot of backtracking to do for Big Dave (concerning his 'let's cut the police forces' idea).

Wasnt the "victim" of the police shooting killed for shooting at the police?

Supposedly so. The news is so wrapped up in the riots, the information coming through about Mark Duggan can seem a little confusing. The last I heard, he supposedly exchanged fire with the police from a minicab, and was shot in the chest and killed. An inquest is ongoing as to whether he did actually fire the gun. The gun has an empty cartridge, but a bullet lodged in a police radio is not consistant with the type of firearm, and is probably from a police issued gun.

There's clearly been some sort of balls-up, but no excuse for the violence seen, 'justified' as a middle finger to the police and its treatment of black people (what??)

I did hear that some young Londoners were banding together to clean up after the riots, which is nice.

Ah, I'd be down there like a shot if I could get it organised round my veterinary placements. I was talking with a university friend earlier, and we agreed that when Camden in particular was attacked, it felt like a personal insult. It'd be great to band together with the people of London to show these thugs that they can't break our communities. It might also give the students back a bit of kudos after the protests of November 2010, the damage of which I saw first hand.

Once again, thanks for the continued well wishes, both here and through PMs. I will of course keep everyone updated - although hopefully the situation is coming under some degree of control by now.