London begins riot shutdown

Much of London shut down early today as 16,000 police officers took to the streets ahead of a feared fourth night of rioting, looting and arson.

By mid-afternoon, most businesses across the English capital had closed their doors and many firms sent staff home amid concerns about further mob violence.

British Prime Minister David Cameron flew back from his holiday early to join police chiefs in warning rioters they would face the full weight of the law.

The Metropolitan Police, which has been accused of losing control of parts of London, flooded the streets with nearly three times as many officers as were on duty during last night's disorder.

Some 30 other forces lent officers to bolster the numbers for a massive policing operation intended to put a stop to the horrific scenes witnessed across the country since Saturday.

Scotland Yard ruled out involving the Army for now but said police were "not scared" of using plastic bullets to bring the unprecedented riots under control.

The violence first erupted in Tottenham, north London, on Saturday night after a peaceful protest over the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, last Thursday.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) confirmed today that there was no evidence that Mr Duggan fired at officers before he was shot in the chest.

Mr Duggan's family said today they were "deeply distressed" by the disorder across the country which has followed his death.

Mr Cameron cut short his holiday in Tuscany to return to take personal charge of efforts to quell the rioting.

After chairing a meeting of the British government's emergency committee, Cobra, Cameron announced that Parliament would be recalled for a day on Thursday to discuss the developments.

Mr Cameron pledged to speed up court procedures to deal with the "many more" arrests expected as police scour hundreds of hours of CCTV for evidence about those responsible for the violence.

He warned the young people involved in the riots: "You will feel the full force of the law. And if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment."

The Prime Minister will be chairing another Cobra meeting at 9am tomorrow, Downing Street confirmed.

Hundreds of people were arrested overnight after the worst rioting in decades as looting, violence and arson spread across London and to other major cities, including Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol.

A 26-year-old man who was shot in a car during riots in Croydon, south London, has died in hospital.

Three people were held on suspicion of the attempted murder of a police officer who was injured by a car while trying to stop looters in Brent, north west London.

A total of 111 Met officers and five police dogs have been injured in the violence after being attacked with bricks, glass bottles and planks of wood.

So far Scotland Yard has made 563 arrests over the three nights of rioting and charged 105 people with offences ranging from burglary to possessing offensive weapons.

The Met described last night's violence as the worst it had seen "in current memory" for "unacceptable levels of widespread looting, fires and disorder".

Shops across the capital began closing from lunchtime today in response to police warnings and rumours that rioters were planning a series of attacks.

The town hall in Hackney, east London - an area badly hit by disorder yesterday - was shut in the afternoon over fears of further violence.

Early reports this evening suggested there was minimal trouble, although West Midlands Police said they were dealing with sporadic disorder in Wolverhampton and the arson of two vehicles in nearby West Bromwich. There were also reports of trouble in Salford.

Public anger about the authorities' response to the rioting spilled over today as politicians tried to show they were listening to victims of the attacks.

London mayor Boris Johnson, who flew back from his summer holiday yesterday, faced a barrage of criticism from angry residents as he toured riot-hit Clapham in south London with Home Secretary Theresa May.

One woman told the mayor to resign and another complained there was no one to defend her when a brick came through the window of the salon she was in.

Mr Johnson told the frustrated crowds: "I know there are questions about the police response and police numbers. We are certainly going to be dealing with those."

Meanwhile, youths booed and shouted "go home" as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg toured Birmingham city centre.

Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin called for every special constable to report for duty and warned the rioters that they faced arrest and prosecution.

"This is not just a game. This is criminality, this is burglary, this is violence, and we will pursue each and every one that has been involved in this and we will be making sure they are brought to justice and to court," he said.

Scotland Yard launched a dedicated webpage to show images of people wanted over the disturbances at www.met.police.uk/rioterswanted.

Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt said courts and prisons were being kept open to deal with people who are charged over the riots.

"A number of prisons and courts are being kept open on a 24-hour basis to deal with people arrested and charged over these disturbances," he said.

"The criminal justice system will provide all necessary support to the police to ensure anyone involved in this kind of criminal activity is brought to justice as swiftly as possible."

The riots have led to a series of domestic football matches being called off, including Carling Cup ties at West Ham, Charlton, Crystal Palace and Bristol City.

In an exceptional move, the Football Association announced that England's friendly against Holland at Wembley Stadium tomorrow had also been called off.

Bert van Oostveen, chief executive of Dutch football federation the KNVB, said: "The police in London could not guarantee the safety of our players and our supporters."

Terry Sweeney, assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, posted on the force's Twitter account: "Aware of pockets of minor disorder in Salford city centre. Advising people to stay out of city centre but also keep calm."

By 6.30pm three stores near Sloane Square Tube station in London had suffered smashed windows.

Hugo Boss, Ladbrokes and a foreign exchange shop were all left badly damaged, but rioters had moved away from the area.