The men, ages 16 and 17, were arrested today at homes in the nearby Pimlico neighborhood on suspicion of violent disorder, burglary and grievous bodily harm, London’s Metropolitan Police said in an e-mailed statement. The teens are also suspected of looting a jewelry shop on Pimlico Road in the same area of town, police said.
Hugo Boss, the Metzingen, German-based luxury clothing company, said in an e-mailed statement that all the store’s windows were damaged and some clothing was stolen.
Confrontations between rioters and police in neighborhoods throughout the capital began after an Aug. 6 protest over the police shooting of north London resident Mark Duggan descended into violence. A wave of rioting and looting has spread to other cities around England. Police in London have arrested more than 1,000 people and charged nearly 600.
In a search of one of the suspect’s homes this morning, police found a machete, a mobile phone with pictures of the third night’s riots and possibly stolen jewelry. The allegation of bodily harm relates to a separate assault with a machete last night in Westminster, police said.
Police said in a separate statement today that they released five men on bail after they were arrested on suspicion of arson at a Sony Corp. (6758) distribution center in north London. Two of the men, arrested on Aug. 9, 10 and yesterday, were 17, and the others were 18, 22 and 23 years old.
The streets are ours as well’: Cleanup begins after riots claim first life.
LONDON—Amid news that rioting has claimed its first victim, hundreds of people are taking to the streets across London today to help clean up the destruction left in the wake of last night’s violence.
A 26-year-old man shot in a car in Croydon last night has died in hospital, Scotland Yard said. It’s the first death in riots that have raged across London for three days and nights. So far, police have arrested more than 450.
This morning in Hackney Central, about 500 people gathered this morning where youths and police first clashed yesterday. Volunteers arrived carrying brooms and cleaning supplies, and by 11 a.m. the streets were clear of debris, shop windows boarded, and little was left in the way of obvious reminders of last night’s violence.
Others have been gathering in Clapham, Camden and Ealing in London, and in the cities of Birmingham and Liverpool.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has recalled parliament to meet on Thursday after police failed to stop gangs of youth roaming in neighbourhoods around the city from looting, setting buildings and cars on fire and assaulting and robbing people in the streets for a third consecutive night.
Cameron has promised 16,000 officers on London’s streets tonight.
David Harrison, 49, stood outside Hackney Town Hall with a broom in his hand and said the crowd this morning had a positive vibe and a feeling of togetherness.
“The streets are ours as well,” he said.
In the same way that twitter has been blamed for helping looters and vandals organize, many people are following the Twitter hashtag riotscleanup for the latest updates on where help is needed.
Alison Poltock, director of the East End Film Festival, said she joined clean-up crews this morning because she felt sick about the violence in her area.
“It’s the biggest bit of civil unrest that I’ve witnessed as an adult, and it just felt headless,” she said.
One of the organizers behind the massive effort to clean up the streets is calling for a public debate into why the streets of Britain’s capital have erupted in violence.
Sam Duckworth, a 25-year-old musician, noticed hundreds of people tweeting about cleaning up the city, so he decided to aggregate the information under the twitter hashtag riotcleanup and launch a website, www.riotcleanup.co.uk.
“Everyone’s a bit shocked by it,” he said of the destruction in neighbourhoods across London. “But they’re also not surprised. There’s been an undertone of anger and disenfranchised youth around London for many years. It’s not something new.”
He described an “overwhelming amount of people,” as between 500 and 600 people gathered in Clapham Junction, south London, as part of cleanup efforts organized via twitter.
“I think we need to understand why this is happening,” he said.
“That’s the bigger issue.”
“In the next week there needs to be a debate about why we have riots on the streets of London.”
There have been calls for police to use harsher tactics, including rubber bullets or water cannons, to fight rioters tonight, but home secretary Theresa May has ruled out deploying water cannons on the streets.
The seeming inability of officers to protect businesses and homes has led a group in Hackney to consider taking action themselves.
Harrison is part of that group calling for residents to follow another Twitter hashtag —hand2gether — and flood the streets if there are more signs of violence.
“There were enough people here this morning that if people had been out last night, it would have been very different,” he said, adding, “I’m prepared to come out tonight.”
But Hackney MP Diane Abbott cautioned against vigilantism.
“What I do think is that the community as a whole, 99 percent of who are law-abiding citizens, need to stand up and say: no more,” she said.
She has called for a curfew to keep people indoors to let tempers cool off.
Tom Calverley, 26, watched the riots in Hackney Central from the window of his flat above one of the looted shops.
Sitting outside on what is a peaceful, sunny morning, he said he was amazed at how clean the streets were by 10 a.m.
“[The street] was full of people, the community coming together to say we don’t stand for this,” he said.
But Calverley said he won’t be among those responding to the call for community members to stand against rioters if violence erupts again on the streets of Hackney tonight.
He said, “It makes you realize how superficial the safety is from the police.”
London Hate Looters-India too!‘
A 26-year-old man shot in a car in Croydon last night has died in hospital, Scotland Yard said. It’s the first death in riots that have raged across London for three days and nights. So far, police have arrested more than 450.
This morning in Hackney Central, about 500 people gathered this morning where youths and police first clashed yesterday. Volunteers arrived carrying brooms and cleaning supplies, and by 11 a.m. the streets were clear of debris, shop windows boarded, and little was left in the way of obvious reminders of last night’s violence.
Others have been gathering in Clapham, Camden and Ealing in London, and in the cities of Birmingham and Liverpool.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has recalled parliament to meet on Thursday after police failed to stop gangs of youth roaming in neighbourhoods around the city from looting, setting buildings and cars on fire and assaulting and robbing people in the streets for a third consecutive night.
Cameron has promised 16,000 officers on London’s streets tonight.
David Harrison, 49, stood outside Hackney Town Hall with a broom in his hand and said the crowd this morning had a positive vibe and a feeling of togetherness.
“The streets are ours as well,” he said.
In the same way that twitter has been blamed for helping looters and vandals organize, many people are following the Twitter hashtag riotscleanup for the latest updates on where help is needed.
Alison Poltock, director of the East End Film Festival, said she joined clean-up crews this morning because she felt sick about the violence in her area.
“It’s the biggest bit of civil unrest that I’ve witnessed as an adult, and it just felt headless,” she said.
One of the organizers behind the massive effort to clean up the streets is calling for a public debate into why the streets of Britain’s capital have erupted in violence.
Sam Duckworth, a 25-year-old musician, noticed hundreds of people tweeting about cleaning up the city, so he decided to aggregate the information under the twitter hashtag riotcleanup and launch a website, www.riotcleanup.co.uk.
“Everyone’s a bit shocked by it,” he said of the destruction in neighbourhoods across London. “But they’re also not surprised. There’s been an undertone of anger and disenfranchised youth around London for many years. It’s not something new.”
He described an “overwhelming amount of people,” as between 500 and 600 people gathered in Clapham Junction, south London, as part of cleanup efforts organized via twitter.
“I think we need to understand why this is happening,” he said.
“That’s the bigger issue.”
“In the next week there needs to be a debate about why we have riots on the streets of London.”
There have been calls for police to use harsher tactics, including rubber bullets or water cannons, to fight rioters tonight, but home secretary Theresa May has ruled out deploying water cannons on the streets.
The seeming inability of officers to protect businesses and homes has led a group in Hackney to consider taking action themselves.
Harrison is part of that group calling for residents to follow another Twitter hashtag —hand2gether — and flood the streets if there are more signs of violence.
“There were enough people here this morning that if people had been out last night, it would have been very different,” he said, adding, “I’m prepared to come out tonight.”
But Hackney MP Diane Abbott cautioned against vigilantism.
“What I do think is that the community as a whole, 99 percent of who are law-abiding citizens, need to stand up and say: no more,” she said.
She has called for a curfew to keep people indoors to let tempers cool off.
Tom Calverley, 26, watched the riots in Hackney Central from the window of his flat above one of the looted shops.
Sitting outside on what is a peaceful, sunny morning, he said he was amazed at how clean the streets were by 10 a.m.
“[The street] was full of people, the community coming together to say we don’t stand for this,” he said.
But Calverley said he won’t be among those responding to the call for community members to stand against rioters if violence erupts again on the streets of Hackney tonight.
He said, “It makes you realize how superficial the safety is from the police.”
London Hate Looters-India too!‘
London Financial District On Alert Over Riots
Financial institutions remain on alert Tuesday after riots across London caused damage across the city, including properties owned by banks and private equity firms.
Investment banks have so far remained largely unaffected by the violence - a contrast to the G20 protests in April 2009 when anti-capitalist demonstrations targeted the firms for their role in the financial crisis.
However, banks told Financial News that while it was still business as usual, they were keeping staff up-to-date with the latest developments and were in close contact with police to ensure the safety of customers and staff. The City of London Police said in a statement it "continues to support the Metropolitan Police Service as they tackle the disorder that has been taking place across London".
It added: "Additional security measures have been put in place within the City and we are providing advice and reassurance to our community."
Meanwhile, several banks have said that many of their retail branches were closed from the damage of the riots, which first started in Tottenham on Sunday.
Barclays PLC (BCS) said that it would pre-empt unrest with the early closure of stores in areas that could erupt into violence, and that it was working with police and its security personnel to monitor the situation. It said there had been damage to branches in Tottenham and Walthamstow.
HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) said two of its branches did not open at all on Monday as they were inside police exclusion zones in Tottenham and Brixton.
The bank said four of its branches remained closed Tuesday, and that it had seen damage to its Clapham Junction, Winchmore Hill, Upton Park and Deptford branches on Monday night.
At least four branches owned by Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) are understood to be closed, with a number of other stores damaged by the unrest.
In a statement, the bank said: "The safety of our staff and customers is our top priority. We are closely monitoring the situation and our security teams are working closely with the police to mitigate any impact on our U.K. branches and offices."
A number of Banco Santander (STD) branches were also damaged in areas where unrest occurred, according to a spokeswoman.
The bank said in a statement : "Santander is working closely with the police to monitor the situation and will close branches, if required, to protect staff and customers."
Meanwhile, private equity firms have also been affected by riots at their portfolio companies. A spokeswoman for Fitness First, the gym chain owned by UK buyout firm BC Partners, said the company would hold crisis talks today after an attack on its Birmingham branch and the closure of several London gyms.
Fitness First said on social networking site Twitter this morning its gyms in Tottenham, Croydon and Lavender Hill, London, remained closed as a safety precaution.
Yesterday, it said on Twitter: "Our member and staff safety is our number one priority this evening."
BC Partners was also affected by the riots at its portfolio company Phones 4U, which was among mobile phone retailers targeted in last night's riots in Clapham, London.
Branches of Boots, one of US buyout firm Kolhlberg Kravis Roberts' most high-profile investments, have also been attacked in London, according to reports.
Meanwhile, Luxury retailer Hugo Boss, owned by UK buyout firm Permira, was attacked in Sloane Square, London, according to The Sun newspaper, and Axcel Partners-backed jewellery store chain Pandora A/S (PNDORA.KO) was looted in Birmingham, according to The Express.
Of FINANCIAL NEWS By Richard Partington and Jennifer Bollen
Riot police walk along Clarence Road in Hackney.. Pockets of rioting and looting continues in various boroughs of London, as well as in Birmingham, prompted by the initial rioting in Tottenham and then in Brixton on Sunday night. Photo: Getty Images
Smoke from a burning Sony distribution center reportedly set alight by rioters, rises above London's major M25 motorway near Enfield, north London, Tuesday Aug. 9 2011. A wave of violence and looting has raged across London since Saturday, as authorities struggled to contain the country's worst unrest since race riots set the capital ablaze in the 1980s. Some 525 arrests have been made in London alone and dozens were arrested in other cities. Police announced Tuesday that plastic bullets would be "one of the tactics" available to officers to quell the riots.(AP Photo/Max Nash)
A firefighter sprays water on the furniture store set on fire by rioters last night in Croydon, south London, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011.A wave of violence and looting raged across London and spread to three other major British cities Tuesday
A property is on fire near Reeves Corner in Croydon, south London Tuesday,
A firefighter walks near the burnt out shell of Reeves Furniture store in Croydon, south London following a third night of unrest on the streets of London
Firefighters spray water onto building set on fire by rioters last night in Croydon, south London
Fire fighters douse a burnt out building in Croydon, south London
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