Riots continued unabated on the fourth night in England as more cities outside London faced eruption of violence and looting on Tuesday night. London was, however, peaceful with more than 16,000 police personnel patrolling the city wrecked by three nights of rioting by gangs of young people.
Birmingham and other towns in West Midlands was worst hit in riots outside London and three Muslim men of Asian origin was killed by a speeding car as they stood on a pavement outside a mosque in Birmingham to prevent any violence in that area.
Haroon Jahan, 21, Shahzad Ali, 31, and Abdul Musavir, 30, were all killed when they were hit by a speeding car. “Shortly after 1 am groups of men, believed to be predominantly Asian men, gathered near to the petrol station. At some point a vehicle was driven into a group of men and tragically three have lost their lives. The victims are from Asian Muslim communities in Birmingham,” West Midla-nds police chief Chris Sims said Wednesday, adding the police had arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of murder.
There is worry that this incident could spark racial tension in the city with a large Asian-origin population, especially given the fact that Muslims were observing the holy month of Ramzan.
The police in West Midlands has arrested 163 people overnight and executed 25 warrants on 25 addresses. “We have had another very difficult night in Birmingham and across the West Midlands. During yesterday’s early to late evening, we experienced more of the same in terms of groups of young people committing theft and damage. There were groups of between 30 to 40 people and limited disorder in West Bromwich and Wolverhampton,” said Mr Sims.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who headed the Cobra committee’s emergency planning meeting Wednesday morning, said the “major fightback” launched in the country against riots was working and stressed that “whatever resources the police need they will get,” including contingency plans for water cannons to be available at 24 hours’ notice.
“This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped. We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets,” the Prime Minister said.
He called for a clearer code of responsibility to fix the pockets of a “broken and sick” society. “We need to have a clearer code of values and standards that we expect people to live by, and stronger penalties if they cross the line. Restoring a stronger sense of responsibility across our society, in every town, in every street, in every estate is something I’m determined to do,” Mr Cameron said.
Mr Cameron faces an emergency debate in the House of Commons on the violence on Thursday and will attend a Cabinet meeting and a meeting of the Cobra committee in the morning.
London was effectively policed Tuesday night and the Metropolitan Police has arrested a total of 768 people in connection with violence, disorder and looting till now. Till now, 167 people have been charged. Since 9 pm Tuesday night, Scotland Yard made 81 arrests across London.
The courts have been sitting round the clock through the night on Tuesday to prosecute those involved in the violence as police forces across the UK released CCTV images and footage to get the public to identify gangs of looters.
Police forces in England have made largescale arrests in a bid to stop violence. The Greater Manchester police arrested 113 people in Manchester and Salford; the Nottinghamshire police arrested 90 people for rioting and looting; the Merseyside police in Liverpool and Birkinhead arrested 50 perpetrators of violence and looting and 18 of those were presented in court on Wednesday; the Gloucestershire police has arrested 10 people, including a 16-year-old girl, for disorder in Gloucester on Tuesday night.
With the police opting for “more robust approach”, the UK government aims to control riots and start rebuilding the image of the country which is due to host the Olympic Games in less than a year.
The situation may have been peaceful in London, but the police watchdog IPCC’s report into the death of Mark Duggan, which led to flaring up of riots on Saturday in London, could again lead to anger over the manner of his death in police shooting.
“At this stage there is no evidence that the handgun found at the scene was fired during the incident,” the IPCC discounting the earlier report which said Duggan had fired at the police. However, the watchdog said Duggan was found in possession of a self-loading pistol with a “bulleted cartridge” in the magazine.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding 29-year-old Duggan’s is continuing and it said the testimony of driver of minicab, in which he was shot, was being examined.
“I know this is an incredibly difficult time for Mark Duggan’s family, who have made it abundantly clear that they in no way condone the violence that we have all seen on the streets of London and elsewhere over the past three nights. I am committed to ensuring they are provided with answers from the IPCC about the investigation into Mark’s death as soon as we have them, and I acknowledge their frustration that this can be a lengthy process,” IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said.