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Published 09 Aug, 2011 09:03pm

Riots hit more cities in Britain

LONDON, Aug 9: Rioters went on the rampage in Britain for a fourth night on Tuesday as Prime Minister David Cameron recalled parliament and ordered thousands of extra police onto the streets after the worst riots in decades devastated parts of London.

The speaker of the House of Commons agreed to recall parliament on Thursday so lawmakers could debate their response to the riots — a highly unusual move highlighting the seriousness of the crisis.

The disorder also claimed its first fatality, with the death of a man found shot during looting in south London.

Many Londoners feared another night of trouble. Sales of baseball bats and police batons shot up more than 5,000 percent in the last 24 hours on Amazon's British website.

In Hackney, scene of some of the worst rioting on Monday, groups of yellow-vested police were visible everywhere.

Commuters hurried home early, shops shut and many shopkeepers boarded their windows as the city prepared nervously for more of the violence that has flared in neighbourhoods across London and spread to other cities. Police promised to nearly triple their deployment on the streets _ from 6,000 to 16,000. London has a population of 7.8 million. The police have been accused of failing to bring the situation under control by going in softly to spare local sensibilities. On Tuesday, police said they would consider using rubber or plastic bullets.

Violence erupted in new areas from Manchester, northern England, where youths set shops alight, to the industrial cities of Wolverhampton and West Bromwich in central England where people smashed into stores and torched cars.

Police in London were bracing for more trouble after what they said was the worst night of disorder in living memory. Mr Cameron vowed to do “everything necessary to restore order to the streets”.

The orgy of violence had rolled across the city on Tuesday night, with cars burned, shops looted and running battles between police and rioters.

The prime minister cut short his holiday in Italy to return to Britain for an emergency meeting on the riots and condemned the looting and arson attacks as “sickening scenes”.

Britain's police watchdog said it found no evidence that Mark Duggan — whose shooting by police last week was the catalyst for the riots in London — had fired a gun at officers.—Agencies

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