Britain tense as gangs roam
UPDATED: Aug 9, 2011 18:01 GMT Some 16,000 police officers will be on the streets of London Tuesday night, after British Prime Minister David Cameron vowed tough action to quell rioting in Britain's cities. He said the extra officers -- more than twice as many as the night before -- would tackle the "criminality, pure and simple" that has shaken the capital. Officers from several other cities were drafted in to help in the effort. "People should be in no doubt that we will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and make them safe for the law-abiding," Cameron said. Violence initially sparked by the shooting death of a 29-year-old man in London, Mark Duggan, spread to other parts of the nation Monday night, with dramatic scenes of blazing buildings and confrontations between police and hooded youths. The trouble -- described by police as "'copycat criminal activity" -- takes place against a backdrop of austerity measures and budget cuts. An independent police body reported Tuesday that there was "no evidence" that Duggan had opened fire at officers, a result that may further anger his community. The police appealed for calm in light of the report. The Metropolitan Police in London said Monday night's disturbances were the worst the force "has seen in current memory for unacceptable levels of widespread looting, fires and disorder." Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man who was found with a gunshot wound to the head in Croydon, south London, on Monday night has died, police said Tuesday. His is the first riot-related death since the unrest broke out Saturday night. Rumours swirled Tuesday afternoon of police responding to different areas of London, but the only outbreaks of disorder confirmed by police were in Wolverhampton and West Bromwich, about 100 miles north of London, and the northwestern city of Manchester. Cameron, who cut short his vacation in Italy to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday, has also taken the highly unusual step of recalling lawmakers from their summer break, with Parliament to meet Thursday.
