RIOTS: THE RECKONING

James Frankcom:

The fallout from the rioting in East London continues with the Metropolitan Police making a number of arrests as part of Operation Withern. They have also released CCTV pictures of some of the Hackney rioters they are still seeking.

The rioting in the East End began in the Pembury Estate in Hackney on August 8^th with people setting alight cars and throwing petrol bombs. In Mare Street, businesses were looted and three officers were injured. The rioting then spread down Cambridge Heath Road to Bethnal Green Road where a number of local businesses were ransacked and windows broken.

From Bethnal Green rioting eventually filtered down to Whitechapel Road and here several shops were damaged before the violence finally petered out at the southern end of Brick Lane after coming up against determined local opposition.

In a separate front rioters from Stoke Newington heading south towards Shoreditch were repulsed by shopkeepers in Dalston who united to prevent damage to their businesses.

The actions of good citizens in both Whitechapel and Dalston certainly saved Shoreditch from serious damage as it would appear from the course of these two groups that it was there that the rioters were destined to eventually converge.

In the days following these events we can only find evidence that the Met has arrested just eight people in connection with the local disorder following raids across Tower Hamlets and Hackney.

They are believed to include two fifteen year-old girls, two nineteen year-old men, a twenty year-old man and a forty-seven year-old man; all on suspicion of burglary and/or violent disorder.

Freddy Aguis of Penshurst Road E9 has been charged with handling stolen goods.

None of the names or any further details of the other people arrested have as yet been released.

Civic leaders have united to condemn the rioters.

Lutfur Rahman, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, called for calm. He appealed to young people “not to target their own community” and in his statement said the rioting was an “inevitable” result of “frustration and alienation”.

Cllr. Josh Peck, the Leader of the Labour Group of Councillors at Tower Hamlets was more unequivocal in his condemnation saying, “There is no excuse for mindless criminality” and the council must “give its full support to the police” to ensure “all those responsible are brought to justice.”

Rushanara Ali MP (Labour) for Bethnal Green and Bow said, “Local people want proper law enforcement and the looters to be brought to justice.” In a swipe against the government and their proposed cuts to police budgets she added, “The public and the world must have confidence that the Met can keep London safe next year. It must have the back-up it needs to be able to police London.”

The latest figures from the Met for arrests and charges in relation to recent disorder across London are as follows:
= 1920 total arrests (adult: 1508 / juveniles: 412).
= 1098 people have been charged (adult: 864 / juveniles: 234).