FOLLOWING A night of violence in London on Saturday, youths last night vandalised a police car and smashed windows on Enfield High Street in London. There were unconfirmed reports that a number of vehicles were set alight.
Groups of hooded youths, some numbering 30 or so, ran around Enfield. Many had their faces covered and some carried sticks and other weapons.
They were repeatedly chased away from shops by mounted police officers although they were said to have managed to break into a few stores.
Lines of riot police readied themselves for the trouble to escalate.
The trouble began in Tottenham, north London, on Saturday, two days after Mark Duggan (29) was shot by police.
Mr Duggan’s family say they “are not condoning” the riots and looting that rocked their local area on Saturday night.
It followed a peaceful march by members of the local community demanding “justice” for Mr Duggan’s relatives.
Mr Duggan’s brother Shaun Hall said: “We’re not condoning any kind of actions like that at all.
“It seems to be the press who are generally saying that it is linked to my brother. OK some questions were supposed to have been answered, they weren’t answered, therefore there was a domino effect from that, we don’t condone that at all.
“I know people are frustrated, they’re angry out there at the moment, but I would say please try and hold it down. Please don’t make this about my brother’s life, he was a good man.”
Scotland Yard said that a total of 55 arrests had been made – 51 on Saturday and four yestday.
The majority were for burglary, and other offences included violent disorder, robbery, theft and handling stolen goods.
Scotland Yard said 26 police officers were injured during the unrest.
A major investigation has been launched, codenamed Operation Withern.
The riots were roundly condemned as the shocked community surveyed the devastation caused.
Community and political leaders were swift to criticise the rioting, looting and arson that swept through the area after the mood at the protest turned nasty after dark on Sunday.
Buildings and vehicles including a double-decker bus and two police cars were engulfed in flames. Their burnt out shells remained in the High Road today.
Local residents were left destitute after being forced to flee their burning homes, and looters went on the rampage in Tottenham Hale Retail Park half a mile away, smashing shop windows and grabbing whatever they could.
Teenagers and adults were said to have turned up in cars and filled their boots with stolen items, unimpeded by police, while others stuffed shopping trolleys with electronic goods. Every single handset was stolen from a mobile phone shop.
Downing Street labelled the rioting “utterly unacceptable”, while Home Secretary Theresa May said: “Such disregard for public safety and property will not be tolerated.”
Local MP David Lammy said the community “had the heart ripped out of it” by “mindless people”, many of whom had come from outside Tottenham to cause trouble.
Speaking from behind the police tape in the High Road today he said: “What happened here on Thursday night raised huge questions and we need answers.
“The response to that is not to loot and rob. There are homeless people standing back there.
“We have officers in hospital, some of whom are seriously injured. It’s a disgrace. This must stop.”
Cries of “the police want to see the place burn” greeted Mr Lammy’s speech.
The sense of anger at what the rioters and looters had done was clear among the local community yesterday.
Nadine Knight, 24, who works in administration at a planning and architecture firm, said: “I’m completely and utterly disgusted by what the community has managed to do here.
But others voiced the fury that had fuelled the disturbances.
An 18-year-old man, who did not want to give his name, voiced the sentiment he said was shared by many.
“Police know what they should have done, they should have come to speak to the community themselves,” he said. “They don’t care.”
But the anger and frustration went beyond what had happened on Thursday night, he indicated.
Firefighters attended 49 blazes in the Tottenham area and were threatened as they put out fires.
The air was still thick with acrid smoke yesterday as firefighters continued to hose down smouldering buildings. Broken glass and debris carpeted the road and plumes of smoke billowed into the sky.
Police were monitoring social networking sites throughout yesterday and appealed to anyone with information about crimes to inform the force, adding that it was clear the community “absolutely resent the intrusion into their lives and damage to their livelihoods”.
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