Cameron under pressure to rethink police cuts

David Cameron is facing growing cabinet pressure to rethink the coalition’s policing cuts in the wake of the deaths of three youngBirmingham men, who were hit by a car during violent disturbances in the city. As the Police Federation warned of a “catastrophe” if similar riots erupted after the cuts were introduced, a senior government source said the Home Office would be advised to take a fresh look at its plans to cut £2bn from police funding over the next few years. “The optics have changed,” the source told the Guardian. Cameron said the cuts would not lead to a “reduction in visible policing”. He is expected to announce some emergency funding when he addresses the Commons on Thursday, to cover the extra costs of policing this week’s riots, as well as the possibility of insurance claims against police on the grounds they provided no protection to businesses in a riot. But there are fears in Whitehall that the Home Office plan to make savings in the police service could leave an “exposed flank” in any future riots. London‘s mayor Boris Johnson warned the government against cutting numbers. “The case was always pretty frail and it’s been substantially weakened. This is not the time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. – the Guardian

David Cameron appeared increasingly isolated last night after senior police officers, MPs and even the Conservative Mayor of London united in a call for him to reconsider police cuts in the face of four days of sustained rioting. In an attempt to regain the political initiative the Prime Minister had declared that a police “fightback” was under way, and that water cannon were being made available at 24 hours’ notice. But senior police chiefs said these would be ineffectual and the real question was not whether they could cope with the current disturbances, but whether they would be able to deal with similar civil disturbances in future with thousands fewer officers. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, defied Mr Cameron’s position and openly criticised the plan for 20 per cent cuts in police budgets. “The case was always pretty frail and it has been substantially weakened,” he said. “This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers.” – the Independent

Parliament returns to debate riots

The Prime Minister will use an emergency Commons debate to set out plans to ensure that people have confidence in the justice system. He will say that severe punishments will be meted out to those responsible for the destruction and robbery of the past five days. He backs plans to ensure that council tenants found guilty of taking part in the mayhem will be evicted. Ministers are redrafting consultation documents to ensure that councils get those powers. Some councils, including Greenwich and Hammersmith and Fulham in London and Salford in Manchester, announced yesterday that they were already pushing ahead with the measure. Grant Shapps, the housing minister, was tightening the law to make sure that even if a rioter was convicted of a crime outside their borough they could lose their council home — something that is not possible at the moment. “Criminal or anti-social behaviour in the local neighbourhood by a tenant or a member of their family can provide grounds for eviction,” he said. “The Government is looking to strengthen those powers and so anyone involved in the unrest should stop and think about the long-term impact that their actions will have on the rest of their lives.” – the Telegraph

An emergency session of Parliament will be held today to discuss the rioting and looting which has caused devastation across England and left three men who attempted to protect their community from the violence dead. MPs have been recalled to the Commons by Prime Minister David Cameron who yesterday declared a fightback against those responsible for causing widespread destruction during four nights of unrest in towns and cities up and down the country. Mr Cameron will today make a statement to Parliament in which he is expected to spell out further plans to deal with the disorder and compensate riot-damaged businesses. He will also chair another meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee and discuss the rioting with fellow Cabinet members. – the Independent

King warns of “headwinds”

Sir Mervyn King warned that the headwinds facing Britain’s fragile economic recovery were becoming “stronger by the day”, as the Bank of England cut its growth forecasts. City analysts predicted that interest rates would remain at their record low of 0.5% until 2013, after the governor used his quarterly inflation report briefing to warn that the UK could not be isolated from the turmoil in the global economy. As George Osborne, the chancellor, prepared to address the House of Commons on Thursday on the risks for the UK from the mayhem in world financial markets, the Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) downgraded its growth forecast to about 1.5% this year. That was down from 1.8% in its last report three months ago, and weaker than the 1.7% pencilled in by the Office for Budget Responsibility. King warned that the Bank’s number-crunchers had not included in their forecasts what he called “the unimaginable and the unmentionable” – risks impossible to quantify, such as a full-blown sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone. “It is very important that we do not see the development of a sovereign debt crisis.” – the Guardian

Riots spread across the country

Officers fought disturbances in Manchester and Birmingham, involving hundreds of youths who set fire to shops and smashed store windows. There were also riots in Gloucester. The Army’s emergency infantry battalion, known as the Spearhead Lead Element, has been put on standby should the civil unrest worsen, The Daily Telegraph has learned. In Birmingham, police clashed with up to 200 looters who attacked shops inside New Street station, closing off much of the city centre. Masked youths roamed the streets smashing windows and setting fire to cars. In Manchester, hundreds of masked and hooded youths gathered in Piccadilly Gardens and threw bricks at officers. A Miss Selfridge clothes shop was set alight while looters broke into a Foot Locker sports store in the Arndale Centre. Some reports said rioters were being allowed to ransack properties without police intervening. Residents claimed gangs were highly organised, with leaders warning them when to move on to avoid officers. – the Telegraph

Three men are reported dead in Birmingham after a car ploughed into a group of Asian men in Birmingham. The attack, which is being treated as a murder investigation, took place as there were more riots across England, although London remained largely calm thanks to a big increase in police numbers. Police confronted masked youths in Manchester, in what the city’s Chief Inspector called “extraordinary levels of violence”. In the West Midlands 87 people were arrested, while 44 were held in Liverpool and Nottingham saw a police station firebombed. Speaking to the BBC this morning, Labour leader Ed Milband said there were “complex” causes for the violence, but maintained there was “no excuse” for vandalism. – PoliticsHome

Three men killed in Birmingham

A murder investigation has been launched after three were killed and one critically injured in a road traffic collision in Birmingham, West Midlands Police said. The men were pedestrians hit by a car in the Winson Green area of the city at 1am, according to reports. Police said one man had been arrested in connection with the deaths and a car had been recovered. It is not yet known if the deaths are linked to overnight rioting in the area. A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “Two men have died following a road traffic collision in the Winson Green area of Birmingham which detectives are treating as murder. “The incident occurred just after 1am in Dudley Road. Three men were taken to hospital where two subsequently died from their injuries. A third male remains in a critical condition. “West Midlands Police have launched a murder inquiry, arrested one man in connection with the incident and recovered a vehicle from near the scene which will be examined by forensics experts.” – the Telegraph

Osbornomics: keep calm and carry on…

George Osborne will insist that the government is sticking to its tough deficit-reduction programme when he updates MPs tomorrow about the turmoil in the global economy. Treasury sources said the chancellor intends to reassure the Commons that the UK authorities will be increasing their vigilance over the country’s banks and ensuring that contingency plans are in place to cope with the effects of a new credit crunch. In the aftermath of disappointing official figures for manufacturing and exports released on Tuesday, Osborne will also make it clear that the coalition intends to reform the supply side of Britain’s economy to boost growth. “The chancellor will give parliament an update on what has happened, on the discussions he has had and what we need to do domestically, internationally and in terms of contingency planning”, the source said. – the Guardian

US fears double-dip recession

The US Federal Reserve promised to keep interest rates in the world’s largest economy at rock-bottom levels well into 2013, in a signal that it is increasingly worried about a double-dip recession. The central bank’s declaration cheered investors who had been selling stocks relentlessly for the best part of a week, fearful that policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic have run out of ammunition to stimulate faltering economies. A big rally on Wall Street was the result, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average of US shares recovering 430 of the 635 points it lost in the previous session. The Fed has held official US interest rates at zero since December 2008, but yesterday was the first time it has set a timeline for keeping monetary policy that easy, and it had immediate effects across the financial markets. Interest rates on some US government bonds, whose rise and fall is reflected in borrowing costs for millions of American homebuyers and businesses, crashed to never-before-seen lows. – the Independent

Cameron and Boris return… finally

Prime Minister David Cameron has cut short his holiday in Tuscany to chair a Cobra emergency meeting at 9am this morning in Downing Street following a third consecutive night of violence in London. Mayor Boris Johnson is also on his way back to help take charge of the situation. Home Secretary Theresa May said the authorities “can bring an end to this” through “robust policing” and promised that those responsible would be brought to justice. She added that over 450 people had been arrested after looters and police clashed all over the capital, as well as a “significant number” in Birmingham, where looting also took place. There was also violence in Liverpool and Bristol. There have been numerous complaints about the police’s response, with Clapham Junction in south London singled out as an area where police were particularly slow to react. Reports showed that looters were able to attack the Debenham’s store for over two hours before order was restored. London’s Deputy Mayor for policing, Kit Malthouse, admitted to the BBC that police had been “incredibly stretched” and apologised for the slow response in some areas. – PoliticsHome

David Cameron cut short his holiday last night to fly back to Britain to take charge of the response to the wave of riots in London. Following three days of disturbances, he will today chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee after deciding to abandon his summer break at an Italian villa four days early. He will be joined by senior ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and the Home Secretary, Theresa May, and police chiefs to co-ordinate action against the wave of lawlessness. Downing Street had earlier stressed that he was in constant touch with Whitehall officials, but his surprise decision to come back underlines the gravity with which the crisis is being treated within the Government. The Prime Minister’s move came hours after Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, bowed to criticism and scrapped his holiday in Canada to return. Senior government sources had earlier expressed incredulity that Mr Johnson had chosen to remain on vacation in British Columbia when Ms May returned early from her break in Switzerland. Tellingly, neither Mr Cameron nor Ms May spoke to the Mayor in their rounds of calls to discuss the disturbances. “There was a strong feeling that he should have announced he was coming back sooner,” said a senior source in No 10. – the Independent

Violence spreads to Birmingham

Shop windows were smashed and furniture hurled at officers after a social media campaign was started yesterday afternoon urging people to copy events in London. As an estimated 200 youths, many of them hooded or masked, congregated, West Midlands police put up a half-mile exclusion zone around the Bullring shopping centre, which shut early at 6.40pm. They also blocked entry into Pallisades shopping centre above New Street station. Shoppers fled as what started as a peaceful gathering quickly turned ugly. Onlookers described thugs running with knives through New Street and one photographer was set upon by a group who beat him and stole his camera. – the Telegraph

Shares take dramatic tumble

In the first trading since the decision by the Standard & Poor’s ratings agency to strip the US of its AAA credit rating, shares on Wall Street recorded one of their worst one-day falls ever. Last night the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 635 points – 5.6 per cent – at 10,810 after a day of relentless selling. The index has fallen by more points on only five occasions. In London, the FTSE-100 index ended lower for the seventh day in a row, and has now lost over 800 points, or 13.7 per cent. By contrast gold, a traditional safe haven in troubled times, hit yet another all-time high, at over $1,700 an ounce. London shares are at their lowest since July 2010, just after George Osborne’s emergency Budget… The Bank of England is due to reveal its latest forecasts for inflation and growth tomorrow. It is expected to follow the Office for Budget Responsibility in admitting that its projections have not been borne out by reality. – the Independent

Clegg told to distance himself from Tories

Nick Clegg will face calls from senior Liberal Democrats to get “back to basics” and distance himself far more from David Cameron and the Conservatives over the coming month. Tim Farron, the party’s president, is expected to use the annual conference in September to warn the leadership that it needs to help members “hold [their] heads up high” and bring in policies to entice back the voters who have deserted the party. Liberal Democrats yesterday began to outline the policies they will put forward at the next election to put “clear orange water” between the Coalition parties. These include a comprehensive review of taxation policy – with proposals for a new “land tax” on the rich as well as major initiatives on criminal justice, immigration and political reform. – the Independent

London riots spread

More than 100 people have been arrested after bouts of rioting and looting broke out across London overnight. Emergency services were deployed to respond to “copycat criminal activity” across the capital late last night and early this morning, after trouble flared in Tottenham, north London, Scotland Yard said. Disturbances erupted in several boroughs in north, south and east London, with reports of trouble in Brixton, Enfield, Walthamstow and Islington. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said at least nine officers were injured, including three who were taken to hospital after being hit by a fast-moving vehicle at 12.45am. The officers had been in the process of making arrests in Chingford Mount, Waltham Forest, after a shop was looted by youths. Police said 16 people have been charged with offences in relation to the disorder, including burglary, theft, and violent disorder. Metropolitan Police Commander Christine Jones said officers were “shocked” at the level of violence directed towards them. She said: “Officers responding to sporadic disorder in a number of boroughs made more than 100 arrests throughout last night and early this morning. – the Independent

There was mounting evidence on Sunday night that some of the second night of rioting in London was part of an orchestrated plan, as violent disturbances broke out sporadically across parts of the capital. Police in riot gear were deployed across the city to deal with trouble in Enfield, six miles north of the site of riots in Tottenham, while looters later pillaged shops in Brixton. The scenes in Enfield, while reminiscent of Saturday night’s clashes, were smaller in scale, and they took place from about 7pm. Teenagers gathered on St Andrews Road – said to have been a preplanned destination – broke down walls on terraced streets so they could collect bricks to throw at police. About a dozen shops were ransacked and a police car smashed on Church Street. Riot police moved in to secure the area and train station. Shortly after 8.30pm, a crowd of about 100 mainly teenage boys broke into a jewellery store. When police arrived less than a minute later, there were chaotic scenes, with a number of people struck with batons and attacked by dogs. Resident Mizu Rahman, 34, said a plainclothes police officer had told him at around 2pm that there was intelligence that disorder was imminent. – the Guardian

ECB moves to avert crisis

The European Central Bank said on Sunday it would “actively implement” its bond-buying programme to fight the eurozone’s debt crisis, signalling it could start buying Spanish and Italian government bonds. The central bank welcomed new deficit reduction measures and economic reforms by Italy and Spain as well as a Franco-German pledge that the eurozone’s rescue fund will take responsibility for bond-buying once it is operational, probably in October. “It is on the basis of the above assessments that the ECB will actively implement its Securities Markets Programme,” the ECB said in a statement. It is understood ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet had been trying to extract an agreement from ECB members to buy Italian paper before Asian markets opened this morning. Some economists said last night the ECB’s move could improve Italian and Spanish bond yields by between 1pc and 1.5pc when they open this morning. – the Telegraph

The European Central Bank has moved to halt Europe’s runaway debt crisis by pledging to buy government bonds from Italy and Spain. The move to prop up Europe’s struggling nations came after a day of frantic discussions between the finance ministers of the world’s leading economies. Markets open for the first time since Standard & Poor’s decision to cut the US’s credit rating from AAA late on Friday. In a statement, the ECB said it welcomed announcements by Spain and Italy of “new measures and reforms” aimed at the financial problems and urged both governments to roll them out swiftly. The agreement of the bank’s policy-making governing council is a watershed moment for the ECB. The central bank has so far insisted that the main responsibility for acting lies with national governments. But last week a more modest bond buying effort failed to halt the European slide. The ECB said it had taken note of a statement by France and Germany released on Sunday stressing their commitment to European financial reforms. Silvio Berlusconi’s government cobbled together an emergency austerity package for Italy late on Friday to placate the bond markets. Italy’s borrowing costs shot up last week amid fears that its debts have become unsustainable. – the Guardian

NHS – second most cost effective health system in the developed world

The NHS is one of the most cost-effective health systems in the developed world, according to a study (pdf) published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. The “surprising” findings show the NHS saving more lives for each pound spent as a proportion of national wealth than any other country apart from Ireland over 25 years. Among the 17 countries considered, the United States healthcare system was among the least efficient and effective. Researchers said that this contradicted assertions by the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, that the NHS needed competition and choice to become more efficient. “The government proposals to change the NHS are largely based on the idea that the NHS is less efficient and effective than other countries, especially the US,” said Professor Colin Pritchard, of Bournemouth University, who analysed a quarter of a century’s data from 1980. “The results question why we need a big set of health reform proposals … The system works well. Look at the US and you can see where choice and competition gets you. Pretty dismal results.” – the Guardian