Fightback is working, says David Cameron

David Cameron insisted the “fightback” by police was succeeding
today after a fourth night of rioting across the country.

The Prime Minister said a “more robust approach” by Scotland Yard
last night had prevented a repeat of the worst trouble.

He also said operations were going on to pick up suspects who had been
identified using CCTV images.

Some 750 people have been arrested since Saturday, and 160 charged, he added.

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.

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.

“Police are already authorised to use baton rounds and we agreed at Cobra
that, while they are not currently needed, we now have in place contingency
plans for water cannons to be available at 24 hours’ notice.”

Mr Cameron, who has used the phrase “Broken Britain” to describe the
country’s social problems, branded the situation “sick”.

“There are pockets of our society that are not just broken, but are
frankly sick,” he said.

“When we see children as young as 12 and 13 looting and laughing, when we
see the disgusting sight of a young man with people pretending to help him
while they are robbing him, it is clear that there are things badly wrong
with our society.”

The Premier said he believed the problem was a “complete lack of
responsibility”.

“People allowed to feel that the world owes them something, that their
rights outweigh their responsibilities, and their actions do not have
consequences. Well, they do have consequences.

“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.”

Mr Cameron said Cobra would meet again tomorrow, and the situation would be
discussed by Cabinet and a recalled Parliament.

“It is as much a moral problem as a political problem,” he added.

Hundreds of marauding thugs played cat and mouse with police in Manchester
overnight, smashing shops, setting fire to one premises and looting goods.

More than 100 arrests were made, with a similar number in Birmingham.

Police in Wolverhampton were called to reports of a large group of people in
the city centre after shops were attacked.

A mob firebombed a Nottingham police station and college, with more than 90
troublemakers arrested, while in Leicester officers arrested 13 people
following trouble in the city centre.

There was also alarm in the South West, with gangs of youths attacking police.

In Gloucester city centre, mounted officers were deployed to combat groups of
youths attacking shop windows, some with their faces covered, while a
significant fire also broke out in the Brunswick area. Three arrests were
made.

And in Bristol, police arrested 19 people following a second night of trouble.

There were also small outbreaks of disorder reported by Thames Valley Police
in Reading, Oxford and Milton Keynes, while 200 missile-throwing youths
gathered in the south Liverpool area of Toxteth, causing disorder and
damage, according to Merseyside Police.

Earlier, Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh
told Daybreak: “I have spoken to Acpo (Association of Chief Police
Officers) colleagues this morning who co-ordinated the national response.

“There are plenty of resources left in the tank, there are plenty of
people available and we will continue to respond as we have to.”

He criticised the forming of vigilante groups to defend property.

He told Sky News: “What I don’t need is these so-called vigilantes, who
appeared to have been drinking too much and taking policing resources away
from what they should have been doing – which is preventing the looting.”

In a dramatic break with the Government, the Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson
demanded a rethink of the proposals to slash police budgets by 20%.

The mayor, who is seeking re-election to City Hall next year, told the BBC:
“That case was always pretty frail and it has been substantially weakened.

“This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers.”

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has suggested around 16,200 police
officers will be axed – along with 1,800 community support officers and
16,100 police staff.

Ministers insist the savings can be found through cutting red tape and other
functions and do not require reductions in the number of officers available
for frontline duty.

Mr Cameron insisted forces had all the resources they required and had proved
in London last night what could be done by better deploying existing
personnel.

“Mayors, local authorities, always want more money. I don’t blame them for
that.

“It is the Government’s job to give them what they need and to make sure they
make the most of what they get.

“The first question I asked in Cobra today was whether the police had the
resources they needed and they said yes they did.

“And I think the last three days have demonstrated how important it is to get
the most out of what we’ve got. We gone from 3,000 police on the streets of
London to 16,000.

“That’s a demonstration that when you work hard to increase visible policing
that can be done.”

The Prime Minister said he had received assurances from the Ministry of
Justice that there was the capacity in the justice system to deal with all
those being charged over the rioting.

More prison places would be provided if that proved necessary, he said.

He said there should not be a “permanent lock down” after yesterday’s early
closure of many shops and businesses on police advice and said it was the
job of the police to protect them.

“I want London to go back to being the thriving, bustling, international
success story, wonderful city it is. And the sooner we can get there the
better.”