- Prime Minister David Cameron recalls Parliament on Thursday as Government tries to quell uprising
- 'Unprecedented' 16,000 police on duty in London over the next 24 hours as all leave is cancelled
- Man, 26, shot in Croydon last night dies in hospital
- England game against Netherlands at Wembley tomorrow called OFF
- 400% surge in 999 calls on night of violence with 20,800 dialling the emergency services in London
- Cost of clean-up expected to run into 'tens of millions'
- Metropolitan Police use armoured vehicles to push back 150 rioters in Lavender Hill, Clapham
- 'There are no plans for the Army to get involved,' says police chief
- Three arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of police officer
- 525 people arrested in total and more than 100 people have been charged
- Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Birmingham ransacked by rioters
- All police cells in London are now FULL
- Man seriously ill after being shot in Croydon
- Copycat riots reported in Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Liverpool and Leeds
David Cameron today warned rioters that they would face the 'full force of the law' as he recalled Parliament, after violence swept across the country for a third night.
An unprecedented 16,000 police officers will be on the streets of the capital tonight, the Prime Minister announced, compared with just 6,000 last night. Today huge swathes of the capital woke up to the charred debris of burned out buildings and streets littered with waste.
Theresa May caused fury today by appearing to rule out using the Army and water cannons to quell any future disorder. Police were last night criticised for being absent when much of the looting and ransacking took place and, when they were present, keeping their distance from rioters.
Today a 26-year-old man who was shot as he sat in a car during rioting in Croydon died in hospital.
Croydon: A woman leaps from a burning building in Surrey Street, after flames threaten to engulf her. People stand to catch her as she jumps to safety;
'
You will feel the full force of the law': David Cameron issued a stark warning to rioters and looters as he spoke outside Number 10 today;
After cutting short his Tuscany holiday to deal with the worsening public disorder crisis, Mr Cameron said today: 'We will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and to make them safe for the law-abiding.
'Let me, first of all, completely condemn the scenes that we have seen on our television screens and people have witnessed in their communities.
'These are sickening scenes - scenes of people looting, vandalising, thieving, robbing, scenes of people attacking police officers and even attacking fire crews as they're trying to put out fires. This is criminality, pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated.
'I feel huge sympathy for the families who've suffered, innocent people who've been burned out of their houses and to businesses who have seen their premises smashed, their products looted and their livelihoods potentially ruined.
'I also feel for all those who live in fear because of these appalling scenes that we've seen on the streets of our country. People should be in no doubt that we are on the side of the law- abiding - law-abiding people who are appalled by what has happened in their own communities.
'I am determined, the Government is determined that justice will be done and these people will see the consequences of their actions.
'And I have this very clear message to those people who are responsible for this wrongdoing and criminality: you will feel the full force of the law and if you are old enough to commit these crimes you are old enough to face the punishment.
'And to these people I would say this: you are not only wrecking the lives of others, you're not only wrecking your own communities - you are potentially wrecking your own life too.
'My office this morning has spoken to the Speaker of the House of Commons and he has agreed that Parliament will be recalled for a day on Thursday so I can make a statement to Parliament and we can hold a debate and we are all able to stand together in condemnation of these crimes and also to stand together in determination to rebuild these communities.'
Last night copycat violence broke out in Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol, with further reports of violence in Nottingham and Leeds as it spread from the capital for the first time.
Among the most serious of incidents was the arrest of three people on suspicion of attempting to murder a police officer in north London early this morning. Armoured vehicles - known as 'Jankels' - were used to push back a mob of 150 rioters in Clapham, south London, while dozens of businesses were gutted by fire or looted until shelves were bare.
Children aged as young as eight were reportedly seen fleeing shops with games consoles in Ealing.
Despite 6,000 officers on the streets of London alone, many residents reported a lack of police while marauding gangs were a law unto themselves.
An 'unprecedented' number of police will be on the streets of London tonight with 'all able-bodied officers in the Met' out on duty, said Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh.
Officers from 26 forces outside the capital have also been drafted in to help out as police confirmed that 525 people have now been arrested since rioting began on Saturday and over 100 have been charged.
England's friendly international against the Netherlands tomorrow at Wembley has been called off amid fears that it could be targeted by thugs. West Ham and Charlton football clubs had already postponed their Carling Cup clashes tonight on police ad
Amid the unrest, with a year to go until the games, senior members of the International Olympic Committee are in the capital today. As London is cleaned-up they are expected to watch beach volleyball at Whitehall.
After the storm: Fire crews douse out burnt out buildings on London Road in Croydon this morning following the worst night of rioting;
The burnt out shell of Reeves Furniture store in Croydon this morning which was completely destroyed in the huge blaze;
Clear-up: A group of around 300 volunteers were helping to tidy Hackney, north London, where vehicles were torched while David Cameron talks to senior fire brigade officers during a visit to the Metropolitan Police's Gold Command headquarters;
TV PRESENTER 'ARRESTS' RIOTER
Television star Dan Snow 'arrested' a rioter as he looted a shop outside his London home, it was revealed today.
The 6ft 6in presenter confronted yobs as they raided a shoe shop outside his property in Notting Hill gate at around 11pm last night.
As around 50 people caused chaos outside he bravely rugby-tackled a thug and held him until police arrived.
He told The Times: 'As I came up I could hear police sirens coming up the road.
'One of them belted out of the shoe shop. He didn't see me coming, so I rugby-tackled him. He was quite surprrised.'
London Ambulance Service said it took 22 people to hospital from the main areas of the disturbances, although others were treated at the scene or made their own way to accident and emergency departments. Some rioters threw missiles at ambulances or threatened medics as they tried to care for the injured.
Deputy Mayor of London Kit Malthouse told LBC radio: 'Officers were extremely brave. What we are trying to do this morning is maximise the number of police officers we have out again tonight.
'We have something like 6,000 on duty last night. We need to get even more out tonight, and that includes officers from outside London, so we are appealing to other forces to help us where they can.'
The violence started on Saturday after father-of-four Mark Duggan, 29, was shot dead by police marksman last Thursday. This morning a post-mortem examination revealed he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. An inquest was adjourned until December 12.
Acting Scotland Yard Commissioner Tim Godwin said there had been 'far too many' young people on the capital's streets last night and called on parents and guardians to keep youngsters in tonight.
He said there are no plans for the army to get involved.
'We've got the full support of the Government in getting as much mutual aid from outside of London as is necessary and I would like to take this opportunity to remind people of what I said last night as things were escalating.
'There were far too many young people on the streets of London last night, in places which were both dangerous and violent and I urge all the citizens of London, and the guardians and parents of young people especially, to keep them in tonight.
'We will be very robust in policing any disorder we get tonight.
'This is not just a game. This is criminality, this is burglary, this is violence, and we will pursue each and every one that has been involved in this and we will be making sure they are brought to justice and to court.
'We have a significant investigative asset that's in place.'
In one of the most serious incidents, the well-known Reeves furniture store in Croydon, south London, which first opened in 1867, was completely destroyed by a huge fire.
Owner Trevor Reeves told Sky News: 'It has just provided my family and the 15 or 20 staff and families that were supported, it's just completely destroyed.
'Words fail me. It's just gone, it's five generations. My father is distraught at the moment. It's just mindless thuggery.'
Crumpled heap: This Sony distribution centre in Waltham Abbey, north of London was destroyed by violence overnight, and there were reports of looting at the scene before the blaze;
In Clapham youths went on the rampage trashing dozens of shops and walking out with plundered products.
Residents complained that police were very slow to respond as a huge Debenhams store was ransacked. This morning the whole high street was cordoned off as a major investigation and clear-up got underway.
Rioting began in Hackney shortly after 4pm yesterday when a mob of hooded youths began hurling missiles at officers and setting fire to bins and cars. Masked rioters on BMX bicycles armed with batons attacked a crowded London bus during the evening rush-hour, chasing terrified commuters as they tried to escape.
The thugs, some as young as eight, forced the driver to stop the double-decker by pelting it with champagne bottles stolen from a nearby Tesco. About 40 passengers – some carrying screaming toddlers – burst out of the exits and sprinted away.
Within hours similar scenes erupted in Lewisham, spreading to Peckham, Deptford and Croydon in south east London.
Hundreds of fires were started all over the capital, from Camden in the north, Woolwich in the south east, Ealing in west London and then, more worryingly as police lost control of the streets last night, locals were forced to take the law into their own hands to protect their homes and businesses.
In Dalston and Hackney, north-east London, shopkeepers and their families fought back against looting youths and forced them from the streets. As surrounding areas were pillaged members of the town's large Turkish community stood firm outside their homes and businesses.
Home Secretary Theresa May this morning appeared to rule out bringing in the Army and using water cannon. She told BBC Breakfast: 'The way we police is by consent.'
Arson attack: Smoke rises from the Sony distribution centre in Enfield as frefighters try to bring the blaze under control. The fire strated last night after it was looted;
Scene of devastation: A firefighter sprays water onto Reeves furniture store torched by rioters in Croydon, south London;
A smouldering burnt out car is seen in Hackney, east London, following unrest overnight;
Significant: The ballistics report on the shooting of Mark Duggan, which sparked the initial riot in Tottenham, are expected to be published by the IPCC later today;
'British policing has always meant and always depended on the support of local communities and that's what we need now.'
She told Sky News the capital needed 'robust policing' - and rejected suggestions that police budget cutting had any impact on violence.
'Don't let police budgets be used as an excuse for what is going on on our streets is sheer criminality and nothing else.'
Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP and former Army officer, hit out and told the Telegraph that tougher policing should be used in mainland Britain for the first time.
He said: ‘I find it strange that we are willing to use these sort of measures against the Irish yet when Englishmen step out of line and behave in this atrocious and appalling way, we are happy to mollycoddle them.'
Met Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh appeared to contradict the Home Secretary and said using the military had not been ruled out.
'All options were discussed last night and that means, not that we're doing it, the people of London need to know that the Commissioner and his management board team are considering everything and working through those options as we go forward,' he told BBC Breakfast.
Mr Kavanagh said it was 'a shocking and appalling morning for London to wake up to' and he was struck by the 'sheer scale and speed with which the attacks took place across London last night'. It 'was truly unprecedented' he said.
He said there was a 'changing nature' in the make-up of the rioters, with the profile changing 'dramatically' last night from 14 to 17-year-olds to 'older groups in cars doing organised looting'.
He added: 'And there was the far more focused attempt at injuring London Ambulance staff, there to help the community, trying to injure Fire Brigade officers and, of course, police officers.'
Elsewhere, West Midlands Police said it had made about 100 arrests and confirmed that a police station in Handsworth, Birmingham, was on fire. Merseyside Police said there were a number of incidents in South Liverpool, including cars being set on alight.
Avon and Somerset Police reported around 150 rioters were in Bristol city centre, with main roads closed and a number of shops damaged.
Devastation: Flames shoot more than 100feet into the air in Croydon as a building is torched. The suburb has suffered some of the most serious violence in the capital;
Gangs of looters - who appeared to be teenagers and young adults from a range of different backgrounds - raided hundreds of shops and businesses across London, making off with TVs and other electrical goods, cigarettes, clothes and alcohol.
Staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital formed a 'human shield' as they barricaded themselves inside after rioters threatened to set it on fire - in an evil bid to 'win respect' from fellow thugs.
Police ordered an immediate lock-down of the hospital after rioters used Twitter to spread the word and encourage thugs to storm the wards just after 9pm last night. Gangs of rioters rounded on the hospital - which cares for some of Britain's sickest children - armed with broken bottles and knives hoping to 'out-riot' yobs running amok in London.
A hospital spokesman said: 'We were told by police to lock the hospital down. They asked us not to let anyone in or out until it was safe to do so. 'It is extremely dangerous and our main concern is for the welfare of our patients and staff.'
In Medway, Kent, a group of around 15 youths arrived by train and went on the rampage, while violence was also reported in Chatham, Rainham and Gillingham.
Yob also went on the rampage in Nottingham where up to 40 cars were damaged, there were attempts to loot shops and a container of 200 tyres was set on fire.
Cars and wheelie bins were torched during five hours of violence across Liverpool. A Tesco store in Myrtle Street was looted and police came under attack in Admiral Street with some of the rioters aged as young as 10.
Of the attempted murder of a police officer, Scotland Yard said the three people were apprehended following an incident in Brent, north west London, that led to a police officer being injured by a car while trying to stop
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