What Caused The London Riots?

The shooting of Mark Duggan incited one of the worst riots the UK has ever experienced. As reported by the Police, on the 4^th of August the fatal shooting of Mr Duggan was said to be provoked by a shot fired by the deceased. This was later disproved by a ballistics investigation as all bullets were found to be police issue.

Mr Duggan was from Tottenham, which is one of the most depressed areas of London. It actually has the highest unemployment rate in the UK and is made up of a community which speak no less than 300 different languages. After a peaceful protest on the 6^th of August a riot ensued. Bricks were thrown and property was damaged, the trouble went on for hours and the police found it hard to take control of the situation.

The following night the problem escalated with even more rioters taking to the streets. With widespread media coverage some commentators claimed that many of the looters/rioters were merely opportunist teenagers and criminals. As the tension built and the problem spread across the UK the news and press reported that the killing of Duggan was not the driving force behind the problem, but acted as a launch pad.

The austerity measures put in place by the UK government and the dire unemployment rate particularly amongst the young caused many to take to the streets of London and destroy property and steal from local businesses.

Incidentally, most of the trouble was focused around depressed areas in major cities across the UK, starting in London, and later moving to Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester.

Two men, Jordan Blackshaw, 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22 have already been sentenced to four years in prison for trying to organise riots using Facebook and Twitter. According to some reports as many as 3,000 people have been arrested during the riots with five people dead.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said that convicted rioters will be forced to wear yellow jump suits and clean up affected areas as part of community service.

The 2011 London riots will certainly not be forgotten quickly.