8 August 2011 Last updated at 21:00 ETClick to play
Trevor Reeves said his business which has been in his family for five generations has been "completely trashed"
Fires have been burning in parts of London after a third day of violence and looting on the city's streets.
Shops were looted and buildings set alight as police clashed with youths. The trouble also spread to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol.
Violence first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police.
The prime minister is returning early from holiday to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee Cobra.
David Cameron, who is on holiday in Italy, was due to board a flight on Monday night ahead of a meeting with Home Secretary Theresa May and Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin on Tuesday.
A government spokesman said the prime minister has been monitoring the situation on "an hourly basis".
'Mindless thuggery'At least 225 people have been arrested and 36 charged following the riots across London over the past three days, Scotland Yard said.
It added that an extra 1,700 officers had been deployed across the capital on Monday night. Nine police forces from other parts of the country were assisting in providing support, as well as the City of London Police and British Transport Police.
Commander Christine Jones, from the Met, said: "The violence we have seen is simply inexcusable.
"Ordinary people have had their lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery. The Met will ensure that those responsible will face the consequences of their actions and be arrested."
Shops have been looted across the capital
Monday's violence started in Hackney after a man was stopped and searched by police but nothing was found.
The trouble spread outside London on Monday evening and early on Tuesday, with police in riot gear being deployed in Birmingham city centre after scores of youths rampaged through the shopping area, smashing windows and looting from shops.
West Midlands Police also confirmed that a police station in Holyhead Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, was on fire.
In Birmingham, police said officers had made 100 arrests.
There were reports of cars being damaged in Manchester and of up to 200 youths with masks roaming through Toxteth in Liverpool.
Merseyside police said they were dealing with a number of incidents in south Liverpool, including cars being set alight.
Police in Bristol said they were dealing with outbreaks of disorder involving about 150 people.
Meanwhile in London:
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Christian Potts Ealing residentIt looks like a war zone - I have never seen anything like it in all my life”
- Several fires broke out in Croydon, including one at a large sofa factory which spread to neighbouring buildings and tram lines
- In Hackney 200 riot officers with dogs and mounted police were located around Mare Street where police cars were damaged
- Looters raided a Debenhams store and a row of shops in Lavender Hill in Clapham, as well as shops in Stratford High Street
- A Sony warehouse in Solar Way, Enfield, a shopping centre in Woolwich New Road, a timber yard in Plashet Grove, East Ham and a building on Lavender Hill were all on fire
- More than 100 people looted a Tesco store in Bethnal Green, the Met said, and two officers were injured
- Cars were set on fire in Lewisham
- A bus and shop were set alight in Peckham
- Buses were diverted as the violence spread to Bromley High Street
- There were reports of looting of phone shops in Woolwich High Street, in south London, and a torched police car
- Shops and restaurants were damaged in Ealing, west London, and there was a fire in Haven Green park opposite Ealing Broadway Tube
- Football matches at Charlton and West Ham which were due to be played on Tuesday have been postponed at the request of the police
- At Clapham Junction looters stole masks from a fancy dress store to hide their identity
The fresh violence prompted Mr Godwin to call on parents to contact their children and urge the public to clear London's streets.
In the first outbreak of violence on Monday, groups of people began attacking the police in Hackney at about 16:20 BST, throwing rocks and a bin at officers.
Police cars were also smashed by youths armed with wooden poles and metal bars.
Looters also smashed their way into shops, including a JD Sports store, before being dispersed by police.
One resident in Croydon, who gave his name as Adam, said he saw two cars which had been set on fire.
He said: "One older woman was dragged out and they set the car on fire. Then another car around the corner was on fire, then we counted about 12 to 15 shops that had been looted.
"The looting started about three hours ago. I just came back into my apartment and the looting was still going on - not a single policeman."
Ealing resident Christian Potts, 29, was driving through the area when he witnessed the disturbances.
"It looks like a war zone - I have never seen anything like it in all my life," he said.
"There were about 25 to 30 masked youths on Haven Green and they just started tearing into a florist with bricks.
"It's a local family-run business so I can't see why they are doing this."
In Birmingham City Centre looters attacked shops, smashing windows and stealing items.
'Sheer criminality'An eyewitness said windows have been smashed in McDonalds and Jessops near Birmingham Cathedral and a sign has been thrown through a gym window.
London's mayor Boris Johnson is cutting short his holiday to return to the city.
Home Secretary Theresa May also returned early from holiday, to meet Metropolitan Police (Met) chiefs to discuss their response to the violence.
Continue reading the main storyAt the scene
In a lane off Mare Street the wreckage of a burnt-out car still smoulders, surrounded by riot police.
I was talking to one young man who had received on his BlackBerry a list of places where he said there will be further trouble tonight.
He didn't tell me which places and stressed it is speculation. But he and a friend told me frustration with poverty in the area was boiling over.
On Mare Street there is the sound of crunching as police vans run over broken glass. Much of it from a bottle bank which was overturned providing makeshift missiles for rioters who lobbed the bottles at police.
Mrs May condemned the riots as "sheer criminality" and said those responsible would "face the consequences of their actions".
The trouble follows two nights of violence over the weekend which started after police shot a man dead in Tottenham.
Mrs May said: "The riots in Tottenham on Saturday night and the subsequent disturbances in other parts of London are totally unacceptable."
A peaceful protest in Tottenham on Saturday over the fatal shooting by police of Mark Duggan, 29, was followed by violence which spread into Sunday.
A candlelit vigil was due to be held at The High Cross in Tottenham on Monday evening.
Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said there were "significant resources" on the streets, with a third more officers on duty than on Sunday.
He said: "When we have large numbers of criminals intent on that type of violence, we can only do that, get lots of officers there quickly and try to protect local businesses and local people."
But eyewitnesses reported as trouble spread across the city, there were often few police officers around when violence flared.
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UK Riots Live Blog
In this video uploaded by YouTube user ned1988 a crowd of rioters overwhelm police officers in Woolwich, London during late night clash on August 8, 2011:
Scotland Yard says 239 people have been arrested, 45 charged and one cautioned.
The latest press release by the Metropolitan Police:
Officers are working across London to protect people and property following serious outbreaks of disorder in a number of London boroughs.
- Kent
- Essex
- Hampshire
- Surrey
- Northamptonshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Suffolk
- Sussex Twelve specially-trained public order units are included in the mutual aid provision. Ongoing resilience and contingency planning is in place to ensure we can maintain our response.
Report: West Midlands Police have made around 100 arrests after rioters rampaged across Birmingham city centre and some surrounding areas.
Ed Fraser, the head of home news at UK's Channel 4, tweets:
London riots:
Croydon residents leap
from burning buildings
as capital burns
People were forced to leap from the upstairs windows
of a burning building in Croydon last night
as rioting spread across London and beyond.
11:00PM BST 08 Aug 2011
On the third consecutive night of violence and looting, hordes of balaclava-clad yobs stormed shops, setting fire to businesses indiscriminately.
As police fought running battles with mobs of rioters – many of them teenagers – detectives were also called to investigate a shooting incident. A Metropolitan Police source said the incident was believed to be “non-fatal”.
Among the casualties of the arson attacks was a furniture store that has stood for nearly 150 years in the south London borough.
Reeves, a family run business established in 1867, was engulfed in flames sending smoke billowing across the London skyline.
As the blaze raged out of control, the store’s owner Trevor Reeves said: “It’s just completely destroyed. Words fail me. It's just gone, it's five generations. My father is distraught. It's just mindless thuggery."
His brother Graham added: "Our lives are destroyed, it will probably be someone else next week. It's horrendous.”
Elsewhere, residents trapped in flats above a burning pharmacist’s shop were forced to jump to safety from a first storey window.
Silhouetted against the inferno behind her, a young woman was captured hurling herself into the arms of firefighters waiting to catch her below.
The scenes of smashed shop windows and hordes of protesters pilfering goods stood in stark contrast to the defensive plans the police and local authority had laid out earlier in the day.
Still on the council’s website last night was a message warning would-be demonstrators that looting would not be tolerated in the borough.
It promised that “mobile enforcement unit dog patrols and neighbourhood enforcement officers” would provide “high-visibility presence in the town centre” and that CCTV would be monitored.
"People seeking to exploit what has happened in Tottenham is simply unacceptable and I want to make it clear that if you are contemplating coming to Croydon to attack our businesses, you will be caught, “ declared Council leader Mike Fisher.
However, by 8.30pm it became evident that the police had been outflanked, leaving firefighters to tackle the flaming ruins of the looters’ targets.
Witnesses described seeing every single shop window smashed along London Road – the main thoroughfare in the borough – as gangs of “marauding youths” left a trail of carnage, unchallenged by police.
Alan McCabe, landlord of Old Fox and Hounds pub in Croydon, said a mob of around 200 swept through the area.
“It kicked off very quickly, and we tried moving people out the pub as fast as possible,” he said.
“We blocked up the front doors and moved them out the back. I ripped off all the spirits off the optic behind the bar, so that if anyone did break in they couldn’t be used as Molotovs.
"I have never seen such a disregard for human life
"The grief they have caused people, the fear they have put in people's hearts, decent people who have done nothing to anyone.”
Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell said: "I'm sickened to see this happening in my town. My first instinct is sympathy for the businesses and residents who have been directly affected by what's happened.
"The main building which was seen on fire at Reeves Corner is a family business called Reeves, which has been there for a century, and it's been completely destroyed.
"The people responsible for this wanton violence need to be brought to justice."
>via: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8690213/London-riots-Croydon-res...
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People Are Awesome:
Watch This Badass
London Lady
Stand Up to the Rioters
-
CORD JEFFERSON
Senior Editor
- August 8, 2011 • 5:00 pm PDT
- 148 responses
00:00/00:00
While rioters continued burning buildings and looting in London tonight,one anonymous West Indian woman stood up the destructive masses and gave them a piece of her mind. This video, shot by Hackney resident Matthew Moore, is a bit NSFW, but we suggest putting in your earphones and giving a listen. The lady's wise righteousness is a thing of beauty, and a small glimmer of hope in the madness.
"This is about a man who got fucking shot in Tottenham," she screams, "this ain't about having fun and busting up the place!" Preach.
Photo via The Telegraph.
>via: http://www.good.is/post/people-are-awesome-watch-this-badass-london-lady-stan...
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“A riot is the language of the unheard” – Martin Luther King Jr Saturday night and I was glued to my laptop as Twitter got word first of the riots that spread through Tottenham High Road. The images of police cars petrol bombed, shops being looted and buildings set alight felt surreal to say the least; there was no doubt that what was happening would be one of the most significant events taking place in recent British history. They were, however, sickeningly familiar. The Riot was supposedly sparked off after a 16-year-old girl was beaten at a peaceful protest demanding answers for the police murder of father of four, 29-year-old Mark Duggan who was shot earlier this week. The Broadwater Farm riots of 1985 had uncanny parallels as the community responded to the tragic death of Cynthia Jarrett who was killed as a result of a police raid on her home, falling over and dying instantly. Just a week prior to Cynthia’s death, Cherry Groce was shot and paralyzed by police in Brixton. A few years earlier, the infamous Brixton riots were predicated on a rumor that Michael Bailey, a young black boy, had died at the hands of the police. Fast forward to 2011 and the death of Smiley Culture earlier this year still hangs heavy. Whilst these were triggers for an explosive reaction, tensions that arose (like that of last night) were in fact a result of decades of injustice, inequality and deprivation experienced by these communities. History becomes seemingly cyclical, particularly where little has been done in the way on behalf of authorities, institutions and the government to enforce justice and change. Context, Context, Context Just as that witnessed in the 80s, last night saw an amalgamation of narratives emerge that sought to attribute to the events an aimless, chaotic criminality of rioters. Whilst I do not condone violence in any form and much of it has resulted in subversive action that has undermined an element of community life in Tottenham such as local businesses, it is essential that we seek to contextualize such violence in order to address the more poignant question of why and not howthis started. Unlike the Student and Cuts demonstrations that defined 2010, there was nothing middle class about the Tottenham Riots. As it stands, Tottenham falls under Haringey: a borough that has statistically proven to be the 5th most deprived in London and 18th in the whole of England. 61% of children live in low-income families and Haringey experiences the 4thhighest level of child poverty. With the recession worsening, budget cuts leading to the withdrawal of funding for key youth services, rise in tuition fees and the slashing of EMA, conditions are set to further deteriorate for poor youth in areas like Tottenham. Desperation becomes one of many consequences as things fester in a space of economic-socio-political depravity. The relationship between the community and the police force in poor, inner city areas has come to be defined by racism, police misconduct, hostility and mistrust. Statistics like that of 333 deaths under police custody in the last 12 years and no officers having been convicted as of yet further validate claims that the police force as an institution fails to uphold accountability and transparency for its own, often brutal, actions. Violence and Voice: Powerful versus Powerless The violence Tottenham fell prey to last night was undoubtedly rooted in grievances that extend beyond Duggan’s death; they are actions residual of collective memory of the injustice that comes hand in hand with inequality and the alienation that arises from depravation. Institutions such as the police force leave people with a bitter aftertaste, deeming them representative of that which is remote, uncaring and in opposition to the communities they live in. No one likes to see violence and destruction on their doorsteps. But like the events that spread like wildfire under Thatcher, they indicate a failing democracy: one that has a long history of disenfranchising poor, young people of colour. I think we speak from a space of entire privilege when we attempt to frame certain forms of resistance and/or political action as legitimate versus illegitimate discontent. This is something we must refrain from doing so as resistance is never futile. In its very own context we find causes, meaning and ultimately an agency that gives people a space to politically act, particularly when they feel they lack alternative means to get their voices heard. Violence then has significantly different connotations for those who have power and those who don’t. In the aftermath what becomes pertinent is that we address, nurture, facilitate, and support avenues for engagement, education and empowerment. We must confront and challenge the economic inequalities that are definitive of these inner city areas and what socio-political repercussions it has on individual/collective agency. This is not solely the responsibility of community organizers/leaders who at this very moment are amidst preparing meetings to deal with last night’s events, but that of the government and its accompanying institutions that constantly seek to undermine the former through silence, lack of accountability and dangerous, ideological policies like the budget cuts. Let people own their own experiences and voices so we may confront, deal and make this nation better. Symeon Brown, founder of Haringey Young People Empowered, tweeted this afternoon: “there is no romance in the struggle. Anybody who believes there is misunderstands the struggle”. And rightly so, demanding justice and equality is never pretty, easy or comfortable particularly when you are up against White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy. It becomes less about how this demand is made, and more about why andwhat we do next. In light of the historical amnesia Britain perpetually suffers from, I don’t think we should ever forget that when we remember Tottenham 2011. *Disclaimer: Please bare in mind that I think the violence that resulted in looting and burning down of local businesses was entirely tragic and unnecessary. This piece is not to justify violence but to contextualize it in order to understand what it means and where we go next. *References: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/03/deaths-police-custody-officers-convi... http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/london/child-poverty-in-london-the-facts/ha... Stuff/people to check out:CONTEXTUALIZING VIOLENCE:
TOTTENHAM RIOTS
>via: http://hanariaz.com/2011/08/07/contextualizing-violence-tottenham-riots/