Families 'turning riot suspects in'

The disgusted family and friends of those wanted in connection with riots and looting are turning in suspects to face justice, according to police in Britain.

Courts, which have been sitting through the night, continued to plough through dozens of cases today and some are expected to sit tomorrow for their first ever Sunday sessions, a move which the Ministry of Justice said was “unprecedented”.

Police tonight issued further pictures of those wanted for questioning about thefts and violence during four nights of trouble across the country.

Scotland Yard said they had received an “encouraging” response to appeals and had arrested 1,271 people, of whom 745 have been charged.

Greater Manchester Police said they had been “inundated” with tip-offs in response to their “Shop A Looter” campaign.

Pictures of suspected rioters have been displayed on huge advertising vans being driven around Manchester and neighbouring Salford, where hundreds took part in disorder earlier this week.

One youth handed himself in after a friend who saw his picture hold him he had no place to hide, a spokesman said.

West Midlands Police have also posted suspects’ pictures on a mobile screen in Birmingham city centre and Detective Chief Inspector Steven Reed said officers were “making arrests around the clock”.

He added: “It’s also encouraging offenders themselves are coming forward to admit their actions were unacceptable, and responsible parents who suspect their children may have been involved are also taking positive action.”

A woman from Handsworth, Birmingham, was said to have escorted her 15-year-old daughter to a police station after recognising her image in a CCTV media appeal.

It echoed the actions of Adrienne Ives who reported her 18-year-old daughter Chelsea, a former Waltham Forest Council youth Olympic ambassador, after apparently seeing her on TV coverage of the riots in London.

Her mother told Sky News it was a hard decision but something “any good parent would do” and urged others: “If they love their children yes, you have to. It’s their job as parents to do that.”

The teenager denied two counts of burglary, a charge of violent disorder and another of attacking a police car when she appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

Among those in court today was Aaron Douglas, 18, of Gibbs Square, Norwood Park, who broke into a jeweller’s shop and was persuaded by his family to hand himself in after his picture was published in the media.

His solicitor, Ann Baker, told City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court: “The family are as shocked by his behaviour as the defendant is.”

At the same court, a man accused of robbing a Malaysian student in a raid which was caught on camera was remanded in custody.

Reece Donovan, 21, of Milton Court, Cross Road, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex, is accused of stealing a portable Sony PlayStation and a Nokia mobile phone from Ashraf Rossli’s rucksack in Barking, east London, on Monday.

Donovan will appear at Wood Green Crown Court on August 19 for a plea and case management hearing.

Friction between politicians and police continued tonight as Chancellor George Osborne signalled the Government’s determination to press ahead with cuts to police budgets.

And he said that dealing with the violent disorder meant tackling “deep-seated social problems”, not scaling back austerity measures.

“We are committed to the plan we have set out for police reform,” he told the BBC – insisting that a 20% real-terms budget cut need not reduce “visible” policing.

“But this is not just about police budgets; this is about a far bigger challenge for our society, which is dealing with people who we have ignored for too long and helping them feel they have a stake in society.”

He strongly backed the decision by Prime Minister David Cameron to bring in US “Supercop” William Bratton as an adviser on how to prevent a repeat of the riots.

The recruitment of the former New York police chief, who also dealt with riots in Los Angeles in 1992, has increased tension between politicians and the police.

Tonight Ian Hanson, of the Greater Manchester Police Federation, said the Prime Minister’s decision was a “slap in the face” for British police who were angry and disappointed.

“He’s got some great ideas, Bill Bratton. But this is Britain, it is not New York, it is not Los Angeles.”

The comments came after senior officers signalled their anger over criticism by Mr Cameron and others of their tactics in the initial stages of the disorder.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg however – in the latest in a series of visits by top politicians to riot-hit areas – denied there was a rift with the police.

“They have done a brilliant job in really difficult circumstances,” he said in Manchester.

“The police themselves have said they want to review what happened and look at tactics and learn lessons.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband renewed his call for a public inquiry into the riots and looting as he visited those affected by the disorder in Hackney, east London.

Five men remain in police custody tonight on suspicion of murder after the deaths of Haroon Jahan, 21, and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, who were hit by a car in Dudley Road, Winson Green, Birmingham, while guarding shops from looters.

The brothers’ uncle Abdullah Khan today called for “justice for our family”.

Tariq Jahan, 46, father of Haroon Jahan, thanked the community for listening to his pleas for calm.

A 22-year-old man was being questioned by police tonight over the murder of Richard Mannington Bowes, 68, who was attacked as he tried to stamp out a fire in Ealing during the riots.

Police are also holding a 26-year-old man in connection with the death of Trevor Ellis, 26, who was found shot in his car following rioting in Croydon, south London, on Monday night.