IS ENGLAND UNDER SIEGE....

What caused these riots and why did the police lose control? Some commentators think the disorder was understandable and justified; some say the police “had it coming”; others that the violence was only to be expected given the unemployment and poverty in the area.

Some local people told journalists of their resentment towards the police. One student said: “The police never talk to us, they ignore us, they don’t think we’re human in this area.” A youth worker claimed: “The way the police treat black people is like we’re nothing.” And a retired accountant who has lived locally for 30 years reported that some of the police “behave in an arrogant manner that puts people’s backs up”.

Other residents who witnessed people carrying off carpets, trainers and watches noticed that they included individuals of all “colours and creeds”, suggesting an outburst of sheer lawlessness rather than righteous retaliation for past racial slights.
Senior officers were accused of failing to respond to the family and friends of Mark Duggan when they marched to Tottenham police station on Saturday evening. And they were also accused of standing back and allowing rioters to cause havoc in the hours after.
 Police had questions to answer about how the chaos could have spread, said Tottenham MP David Lammy.

Mr Lammy raised concerns after Mr Duggan’s death that tensions were rising between residents and the police. As he spoke in the High Road yesterday, some in the crowd shouted: ‘The police want to see the place burn.’

Scott, one of the demonstrators on Saturday, said trouble flared only after four hours of waiting for a senior police officer to discuss Mr Duggan’s death. He added: ‘The reason I believe this happened is because police have paid disregard to the family. Had they dealt with us earlier in the day, we would have removed ourselves.’ 

He described the violence as an ‘explosion’ of anger over widespread unemployment, frequent stop-and-search checks by police and expulsions from schools.

Metropolitan Police commander Adrian Hanstock insisted there had been ‘no indication’ that trouble would flare as it did. 

He said: ‘Saturday’s peaceful demonstration was hijacked by a small number of criminal elements, who used that for their own gain. 

‘The looting, the damage, the concern that has been caused to businesses and people who have lost their homes and their livelihoods is absolutely unacceptable.’