London's burning

[Victoria J]

Is this all stemming from the original riot that was caused by the cops shooting some dbag who shot at the cops in the first place?

How much one led to another is questionable. But kind of.

I think you may be a bit ahead of yourself assuming the man fired at police. The initial tests showed the shot that nearly hit the policeman to be a police bullet. Though he certainly appears to have had an illegal weapon.

If you don't understand why people are suspicious of initial police reports following the shooting read about the shooting of Jean Charles De Menzes and initial misinformation. They shot an innocent man as a terror suspect and said he'd been dressed in clothing that made it look like he was concealing something - he wasn't, that he'd jumped the barrier into the station, he didn't....

I have never been in trouble with the police in my life but I don't trust their version of events. I'm not assuming they're wrong - but I'll wait for the independent investigation and accept whatever that says. Maybe everything they said is correct, but it's reasonable for people to have questioned that given their past record.

There certainly seems to have been some misinformation about the police actions (allegations of an "execution style" shooting), and the suggestion that this man was wholly innocent didn't really last long. I'd still like to wait until we actually have the information about what happened.

I have found myself getting very worried and scared as it gradually travels North.

Yeah, it's scary out there. I think it will be getting better soon - and for all the damage unless there are things we aren't hearing (and news coverage seems pretty thorough) there's been a lot of property damage and theft, but very little in terms of people being seriously hurt. It could be a lot lot worse out there.

Good luck.

Victoria J

[Der Cute]

I wondered if you'd be able to deal with your mum or go screaming into the riot yourself (us adults dont get along that well with their parents now that we've got experience LOL).

I hope somehow everyone gets tranquilized and it all quiets down.

[crazylegs]

It would appear that last night was the worst of the three nights. 12 county forces have been drafted in to assist in London - this is in addition to the incidents in other locations (Bristol/Liverpool/Manchester/Birmingham).

If it goes on much longer I can see the Notting Hill carnival being called off simply because the officers who would patrol that (and there are hundreds) will be exhausted.

It looks like the Met are running out of trained public order officers - there are numerous images of officers in shirts & ties being used to maintain lines, if it gets bad they haven't got a hope.

[Gumby30]

That big industrial fire is *very* close to where I live - we could see the flames from our flat window. I was *thisclose* to packing a bag and being ready to evacuate.

My Aunt and cousin work at the warehouse that's burning, it's completely burnt out. Not sure if they'll still have a job or what the company will do.

Crazylegs - I know they've called off various football matches and I can honestly see them cancelling the carnival too. The police are doing the best job they can (I think so anyway!) but they're clearly stretched to the limit.

Still, it's heartwarming to see and read about local residents volunteering to clean up the mess. And there was a Twitter report that when a column of police went through a crowd of volunteers they were given a thorough round of applause.

[Beki710]

I'm pretty worried about it spreading further North, I'm in Sheffield, and that's really not too far from other places that have been rioting. The whole of my house is off to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to perform for a week and I can't say I'm not concerned we will come back to find damage will be done if the rioting does hit further North.
My thoughts are with my friends and my sister who are in London at the moment.

[Victoria J]

That big industrial fire is *very* close to where I live - we could see the flames from our flat window. I was *thisclose* to packing a bag and being ready to evacuate.

My Aunt and cousin work at the warehouse that's burning, it's completely burnt out. Not sure if they'll still have a job or what the company will do.

I thought about how many people must work there when I saw it Hope they are OK. (And if their employment situation get's weird make sure they get proper advice - genuine lay offs are very odd and complicated, where you can be kept on contract while they look for works. There are all sorts of rules about when they have to end your employment if you want, paying any money due at the end of employment, and others about claiming benefit when you are in limbo. And if they actually loose their jobs they'd still be entitled to notice pay, redundancy, or whatever they would have been given if it had been closed down normally).

Do they know yet if anyone was actually hurt in the fire ? Was the building empty ?

Victoria J

[customersruinmylife]

My two best friends live in Manchester where all the trouble seems to be tonight. One of them lives in a flat in the city centre and she is very, very frightened at the minute. She wants to pack up and flee to her parents house but is too afraid to go outside

[Greenday]

It's a shame that greedy, opportunistic bastards are putting other people's lives in danger for no other reason than they are selfish S.O.B.'s.

[Victoria J]

My two best friends live in Manchester where all the trouble seems to be tonight. One of them lives in a flat in the city centre and she is very, very frightened at the minute. She wants to pack up and flee to her parents house but is too afraid to go outside

Can she find someone to leave with ? There must be other people wanting to leave the area for somewhere safer. And non-involved neighbours seem to be more than usually inclined to be helpful.

Hope she's OK.

Victoria J

[customersruinmylife]

Can she find someone to leave with ? There must be other people wanting to leave the area for somewhere safer. And non-involved neighbours seem to be more than usually inclined to be helpful.

Hope she's OK.

Victoria J

I've been in constant contact with her and she has decided to stay where she is. She has turned the news off and is distracting herself with a movie (the rioters have moved on from her area)

[FuzzyKitten99]

on a lighter note, saw this on failbook.com

[Beki710]

on a lighter note, saw this on failbook.com

Haha yeah that's been all over my twitter. I'm hoping after a quieter night in London last night things will calm down all over tonight. Fingers Crossed.