UK: Prime Minister David Cameron insisted the “fightback” by police was succeeding today after a fourth night of rioting across the country.
Mr Cameron said it was “simply not acceptable” that violence was taking place and had spread to Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham overnight.
“We will not put up with this in our country,” he told journalists outside Number 10. “We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets.”
The Prime Minister said “whatever resources the police need they will get”, and disclosed that water cannons were being made available.
“Whatever tactics the police feel they need to employ, they will have legal backing to do so,” he said.
Speaking in Downing Street after London mayor Boris Johnson raised concerns about the coalition’s cuts to police budgets, Mr Cameron said senior officers had reassured him this morning that they had the resources they need.
“We will not do anything that will reduce the amount of visible policing on our streets,” he insisted.
The Premier, who had chaired a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee to assess the situation, said: “We needed a fightback, and a fightback is under way.
“We have seen the worst of Britain, but I also believe we have seen some of the best of Britain - the million people who have signed up on Facebook to support the police, coming together in the clean-up operations.”
Mr Cameron said more arrests would take place as police sift through the mass of evidence they have accumulated.
“Picture by picture, the criminals are being identified and arrested,” he said.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here