Cameron talks tough on rioting 'thugs', recalls parliament

Making a statement after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency response committee, Cameron said extra police officers and resources have been made available to the police force in London to deal with the situation.

Cameron, who rushed home after cutting short his holiday in Italy, termed the scenes witnessed on the streets of London and elsewhere as "appalling" and driven by "criminality".

Talking tough, the Prime Minister said the culprits will be brought to bear the consequences of their actions and the government was determined to see that justice is delivered to the law abiding.

To those responsible for the disturbance, he said "you will feel the full force of law... and if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face punishment".
"This is criminality pure and simple and it has to be confronted and defeated," he said.

For the past three days, the streets of London have been the centre of violent riots, sparked initially by the killing of a 29-year-old man in police firing last Thursday in Tottenham in north London.

The rioting that started on Saturday has spread to other areas of London and other cities like Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool, with large scale looting and arson horrifying people.