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Police try to tackle masked youths in Manchester
The prime minister has said the "fightback" is under way, after cities in England suffered a fourth night of violence and looting.
David Cameron said every action would be taken to restore order, with contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24 hours' notice.On Tuesday night, unrest spread to cities including Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham.
Three men aged 31, 30 and 21 died when they were hit by a car in Birmingham.
Mr Cameron, speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, said police had the legal backing to use any tactics necessary to bring the situation under control, including using baton rounds.
But president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Sir Hugh Orde, ruled out using water cannon or baton rounds for now, saying the tactics were not suited to the current unrest.
"Water cannon are used to deal with fixed crowds to buy distance," he said.
"The evidence... is showing very clearly these are fast-moving crowds, where water cannon would not be appropriate."
He added that baton rounds would only be deployed when his officers' lives were under serious threat.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Theresa May told the BBC she had ordered all police forces in England and Wales to mobilise special constables, cancel leave and adopt a "tough, robust approach".
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But, according to the prosecution, the child had been among the hundreds arrested in connection withe the rioting in London over the past few nights.
He was the youngest to appear at Highbury on Wednesday, and admitted taking a wastepaper basket from a branch of Debenhams in Romford, which was looted by rioters.
Others brought before magistrates included a man who works in a primary school, a student and a convicted drug dealer. Nearly all will be sentenced at crown courts which have the powers to impose tougher penalties.
The 11-year-old is due at a youth court at the end of the month. Despite his tender age, he spent last night in a police cell. He's been told to observe a curfew between 18:00 and 06:00 until his fate is decided.
Analysis
Sat in the dock in a blue tracksuit top, the 11-year-old boy was barely big enough to see over the wooden ledge into the main body of the courtroom.But, according to the prosecution, the child had been among the hundreds arrested in connection withe the rioting in London over the past few nights.
He was the youngest to appear at Highbury on Wednesday, and admitted taking a wastepaper basket from a branch of Debenhams in Romford, which was looted by rioters.
Others brought before magistrates included a man who works in a primary school, a student and a convicted drug dealer. Nearly all will be sentenced at crown courts which have the powers to impose tougher penalties.
The 11-year-old is due at a youth court at the end of the month. Despite his tender age, he spent last night in a police cell. He's been told to observe a curfew between 18:00 and 06:00 until his fate is decided.
Six forces have requested assistance for Wednesday evening, according to the Association of Chief Police Officers, which is co-ordinating resources in England and Wales.
They are Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester Police, the Metropolitan Police, Nottinghamshire, and West Midlands. Earlier, Mr Cameron said: "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."
He said more arrests would take place as police worked through CCTV evidence.
"There are pockets of our society that are not just broken, but are frankly sick.
"It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society, people allowed to feel the world owes them something, that their rights outweigh their responsibilities and their actions do not have consequences. Well, they do have consequences."
In London, three courts will stay open all night on Wednesday to deal with some of the scores of people facing mainly disorder and burglary charges after four nights of rioting.
In other developments:
- Three men are run over and killed as they protected property in Birmingham. A 32-year-old man is being questioned on suspicion of murder.
- Up to 250 officers are sent from Scotland to help colleagues in the Midlands and North of England deal with rioting and disorder
- Canning Circus police station in central Nottingham was firebombed by a male gang on Tuesday evening. Nottinghamshire Police say 90 people were arrested
- Met Police arrest 768 people and charge 105 in connection with the violence in the capital, including a 21-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life following a fire at Reeves Furniture store in Croydon on Monday night
- The Met advises people to avoid travel to the areas affected by the disorder
- The government launches a website with advice to the public on how to cope with the unrest
- The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh says 16,000 officers will be made available in London on Wednesday night
- A 26-year-old man found shot in a car in Croydon, amid rioting in the south London town, dies in hospital
- In Liverpool, Merseyside Police arrest 50 people in relation to disorder in the city
- Nine people have been arrested in Gloucester after police officers came under attack from youths throwing stones and bottles
London mayor Boris Johnson urged the government to reconsider its "pretty frail" plans to cut police numbers, saying the argument had been "substantially weakened" by the riots.
But the Home Office said the reductions in the police budget were manageable.
At a press conference, Greater Manchester Police's Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said he had seen "the most sickening scenes" of his career, and said the force had been overwhelmed.
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Forces requesting help on Wed night
- Avon and Somerset
- Gloucestershire
- Greater Manchester Police
- Metropolitan Police
- Nottinghamshire
- West Midlands
Some 113 people have been arrested so far over the trouble in Manchester and Salford, where hundreds of youths looted shops and set fire to cars and buildings.
He said the force was "absolutely intent" on bringing the rioters to justice and his officers were already studying CCTV."Hundreds and hundreds of people, we have your image, we have your face, we have your acts of wanton criminality on film. We are coming for you, from today and no matter how long it takes, we will arrest those people responsible," he said.
In the West Midlands, 163 people had been arrested by Wednesday morning, and police chiefs say at the height of the disorder it was at a rate of about one person per minute.
Chief Constable Chris Sims said it was "another very difficult night" in Birmingham and across the region, with gangs of up to 40 people and "limited disorder" in West Bromwich and Wolverhampton.
Scotland Yard drafted in special constables and community support officers in London to ensure five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday - 16,000 - were on duty.
Downing Street said the increased level of policing would remain in place "as long as necessary" to prevent a repeat of the violence.
It said while there was "no complacency," police tactics in London had "clearly worked".
The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Stephen Kavanagh, said London deserved "some resilience and sustainability from police".
The riots first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, by police.
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