UK Menu England riots: Fightback under way, says PM 10 August 11 17:43 GMT 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 said the deaths were „truly dreadful“ and offered his condolences to the men’s families. The men, from the Asian Muslim community, were run over and killed as they protected property. Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood has appealed for calm, telling a community meeting it was important people did not take matters into their own hands. Earlier, Mr Cameron said police had the legal backing to use any tactics necessary to bring the rioting across England under control, including using baton rounds. Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, he said: „This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped. „We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets.“ But president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), 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“. Six forces have requested assistance for Wednesday evening, according to Acpo, 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. „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.“ The Met Police has made 805 arrests and charged 251 people in connection with violence in the capital, and Mr Cameron said more would follow as CCTV evidence was examined. 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: A 32-year-old man is being questioned on suspicion of murder after three men are run over and killed in Birmingham 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 The Met says 16,000 officers are available in London on Wednesday 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 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 Mr Cameron said anyone convicted of violent disorder would be sent to prison. 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. 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. 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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