On 3rd day, U.K. riots spread to 4th city

LONDON - Violence and looting raged across London and spread to three other major British cities on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to contain the country's most serious unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s.

In London, a third straight night of disorder saw buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps set alight, stores looted and police officers pelted with bottles and fireworks, as groups of young people rampaged through neighborhoods. It was an unwelcome reminder of London's volatility for leaders organizing the 2012 Summer Olympics in less than a year.

As authorities struggled to keep pace with unrest unfolding at flashpoints across London, the violence spread to the central city of Birmingham, the western city of Bristol and the northwestern city of Liverpool. Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his summer vacation in Italy and was headed home for a meeting of the national crisis committee on Tuesday morning.

The riots appeared to have little unifying cause - though some involved in the violence claimed to be motivated by government cuts to public spending.

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The government was aiming to toughen its stance against the violence, as some communities complained that stretched police were struggling to contain the unrest with rioters plundering from stores at will, menacing shocked customers at restaurants and attempting to invade homes. Stores shut early across London, fearful of violence and looting.

Violence first broke out late Saturday in London's northern Tottenham district when a peaceful protest over the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old father of four who was gunned down in disputed circumstances Thursday, turned violent.

Two police cars and a double-decker bus were set alight, stores were looted and several buildings along Tottenham's main street - five miles (eight kilometers) from the site of the 2012 Olympics - were reduced to smoldering shells.

Duggan's death stirred old animosities and racial tensions which prompted riots in the 1980s, despite efforts by London police to build better relations with the city's ethnic communities after high-profile cases of racism in recent decades.

As the unrest spread, some pointed to rising social tensions in Britain as the government slashes 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) from public spending by 2015 to reduce the huge deficit, swollen after the country spent billions bailing out its foundering banks.

In south London, a massive blaze swept through a 100-year-old family run furniture store in the borough of Croydon and sent thick plumes of smoke into the air, forcing nearby homes to be evacuated. Police also confirmed they were investigating a nonfatal shooting in Croydon, but were unable to say whether the incident was linked to the chaos.

Dozens of people attacked shops in Birmingham's main retail district, and clashed with police in Liverpool and Bristol - spreading the chaos beyond London for the first time.

In the Hackney area of east London, hundreds of youths attacked shops and set fire to cars, leaving a trail of burning trash and shattered glass. Looters ducked into a small convenience store as the blackened shells of two cars burned nearby, filling plastic shopping bags with alcohol, cigarettes, candy and toilet paper.

"This is the uprising of the working class. We're redistributing the wealth," said Bryn Phillips, a 28-year-old self-described anarchist, as young people emerged from the store with chocolate bars and ice cream cones.

Phillips claimed rioters were motivated by distrust of the police, and drew a link between the rage on London's street and insurgent right-wing politics in the United States. "In America you have the tea party, in England you've got this," he said.

Police acknowledged Tuesday that major new bouts of violence had flared in at least five locations, badly stretching their resources. Many more neighborhoods saw mobs vandalize commercial streets or break into buildings - some acting with virtual impunity, as authorities struggled to deploy officers to every scene of unrest.

"The violence we have seen is simply inexcusable. Ordinary people have had their lives turned upside down by this mindless thuggery," police commander Christine Jones said, as she confirmed that 239 people had been arrested and 45 people charged with offenses.

British police officers stand guard as a car, set on fire by rioters, burns in Hackney, east London, Monday Aug. 8, 2011.

/ AP Photo

Though the unrest escalated through Sunday as disorder spread among neighboring areas, the crisis worsened Monday - with violence touching areas in the east and south of London previously untroubled by the chaos.

"There is significant disorder breaking out in a number of our communities across London," Tim Godwin, the acting London police commissioner said Monday, acknowledging that 1,700 extra officers had been deployed across London, but were struggling to halt the unrest.

Some residents called for police to deploy water cannons to disperse rioters, or call on the military for support.

About 100 young people clashed early Tuesday with police in the Camden and Chalk Farm areas of north London, while others tore through a department store in the busy south London suburb of Clapham.

The small groups of youths - most with their heads and faces covered - used SMS messages, instant messaging on BlackBerry smartphones and social media such as Twitter to coordinate their attacks and stay ahead of the police.

Once the preserve of businesspeople, BlackBerry handsets are popular with teenagers, thanks to their free, fast instant messaging system. Blackberry's manufacturer, Research in Motion, said in a statement that it was assisting authorities in their investigation and "feel for those impacted by the riots in London."

Police were also monitoring Twitter, and warned that those who posted messages inciting the violence could face arrest.

In the Peckham district of south London, where a building was set ablaze along with a bus - which was not carrying passengers - onlookers said the scene resembled a conflict zone. Cars were torched in nearby Lewisham, and shops looted in south London's Clapham district.

"There's been tension for a long time. The kids aren't happy. They hate the police," said Matthew Yeoland, a 43-year-old teacher watching the unrest in Peckham. "It's like a war zone and the police weren't doing anything. There were too many people and not enough police."

Police said Duggan was shot dead last week when police from Operation Trident - the unit that investigates gun crime in the black community - stopped a cab he was riding in.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating the shooting, said a "non-police firearm" was recovered at the scene, and media reports said a bullet had been found in an officer's radio. However, the Guardian newspaper reported that the bullet in the radio was police-issue, indicating Duggan may not have fired at the officer.

Duggan's partner, Semone Wilson, insisted Monday that her fiance was not connected to gang violence and urged police to offer more information about his death. But she said the riots appeared to be no longer linked to the initial protests. "It got out of hand. It's not connected to this anymore. This is out of control," she said.

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[DinkWinkerton]

After England and Australia banned guns, violent crimes committed with guns skyrocketed

[maxcart]

I guess Empire George lives on a planet called America.I'm getting the same feeling as the German General in Normandy who said to the the British officer " we have the Italians, you have the Americans." George more Americans have died from gunshot wounds than Libyans have. You guys don't need a war, you have one permanently. There's a reason the british police don't routinely
carry arms...Duh!

[finkfurst4]

Sadly most Americans live on planet America, and they are completely unaware of anything beyond it, but worse than that, they don't CARE about what happens beyond it.

[Muslims-for-life]

Did any one notice that what current limitation for authorities is! 'HOODIES' yes only HOODIES. As identification is prime threat for people who ever involved into this lawless game. ......"Hoodies should be banned in UK immediately".
I observed that police is avoiding to use genuine force (right at this time to some extent) on culprits and in numerous scene looters are just making joke with police ask them to run from the scene and police did(unacceptable).
I have noticed these young 'Hooders' taking the law in their Hand and hurting police officers more agressively. More police officers were injured in this law less game.
An immediate quick fix...'BAN THE WEARING OF HOODIES AND ARREST IF YOU SAW SOMEONE'!!
I could recall when veil was prohibited in some EU countries for Muslim women; the people like me accepted this as a genuine security reason and understood this philosophy easily. Because as some negative minded Muslims mullahs (the worst creature under the sky) used these veils (as tool) for their filthy motives (suicide and attack on innocent). Now open your eyes, 'Hoodies' are using as tool and it is one of prime reasons for continuous violence and now killings as well.
Don't be biased 'reason is in front of you'.....just release an order ....."NO MORE HOODIES" for the sake of innocents citizens. It will identify you the exact real scum.

[finkfurst4]

...two fools arguing about completely different things and getting nowhere! I'll try to put the question clearly for both of you.... should covering your face in public be made illegal, and why?

[ewright637]

@ ltj-dangle "its time to end civil rights. it was a fairytale to think multiculturalism would work. its time send the foreigners back to their own countries."

Why don't we start by sending your stupid a** back to Europe. Because I know you are an American most likely of Caucasian descent. Your so ignorant that you don't even know that "Civil Rights" as we know it doesn't even apply to Great Britain.

[ewright637]

The rioting is one thing, but even lower brow is the general white supremacist commentary that follows. What is true about the riots of London is true about the riots in most Western countries and countries dominated by Western economic interest. This is a response to despair and disenfranchisement that the immigrants face within Great Britain. But some of you supposed British Citizens have the nerve, (similar to these ignorant white supremacist Americans), to blame the descendants of your colonial subjects for the being upset about the oppressive British System. Must I remind your dumb ***** that the saying "the sun never sets on the British Empire" was not a fairy tale. All of these non Anglican, English-speaking people come from countries that served England's imperialistic economic interest for centuries. Yes that's right you ignoramuses, all of the gold and diamonds you stole, all of the coal, iron ore, bauxite, sugar, people/free labor, and other resources too numerous to list were all stolen during your country's imperialistic land grab (aka colonization) that left these subject countries devoid of basic resources and sustenance to feed their population. So now that they have shown up to your shores, you have some type of amnesia where you can't associate your high standard of living with your countries past and present oppressive activities. ENGLAND HAS NO NATURAL RESOURCES, so just about every material item you consume that gives you this false sense of superiority CAME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. And these are the facts--you can't refute this. Not with anything substantial at least. And within the British social make up, you have still managed to justify systematic alienation to resources following behind your even more egregious bastard child America by mimicking the racist cuts to services needed to give the lowest rungs of society basic sustenance. Britain and America are lucky it's just rioting, because the manufactured ignorance of the masses in each country is setting the stage for something more violent like insurrection. The audacity of people to think that they are burdened by these lower economic neo-colonial subjects when truthfully speaking it is, AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN, the other way around. And for you Americans, don't even get me started because our population is about as dumbed-down as a country could possibly be. Our country was built on, sustained, and currently driven by the philosophy of white supremacy. A philosophy with no scientific merit, yet championed by the masses of ignoramuses, and validating to the top 1% that own most of the wealth.

[finkfurst4]

Did you mean that the US is supporting Britain, or that riots in the USA will happen soon?!
------------------------
by ahrats August 9, 2011 6:33 AM EDT
.......dont worry Britian the U.S. is just right behind you.

[finkfurst4]

EmpireGeorge- True... you tend to open fire instead!

[ahrats]

A simple protest against government abuse turns violent, who would have though people with no jobs, little future might get angry at the govenment that put them in this situation. It's spreading around the world, it started in North Africa, what the WEST does not have similar problems. The rich are hoarding money making the less fortunate fight over the rest. Trickle down economic's DOES NOT WORK, dont worry Britian the U.S. is just right behind you.

[Ajer12]

Nothing whatsoever with any of those things, its just plain opportunist criminality.

[finkfurst4]

Thank you so much Ajer12, now you've explained the causes so intelligently for us, we don't need to worry about whether or why it might happen again. From your brilliant analysis, I'm sure you must be an internationally respected expert. Have you ever thought of advising the UK government?

[euge005]

Two things-its about young people not having enough opportunity and a police force not having the training to shoot to kill looyers during a civil crisis. Its as bad as the US gov ignoring the illegal aliens in this country stealing our jobs. Law enforcement needs to do their jobs and so do the pols.

[eiddam]

Interesting how a few can light the fire that sparks the flames from one country to another. Remember the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 to 1945,----- the US president in 2001 ,- and how the leaders of their country create the Reichstag, and 9/11 fire to blame another, to gain Power over all?? ....We the people suffer by the ones who start and flame the fire.

[formrusmcsgt]

The riots appeared to have little unifying cause...
----
Anarchists need no cause.