160 Arrests As Looting Spreads Across London

At least 160 people have been arrested in connection with looting across east and south London, following a major riot in Tottenham on Saturday night.

Disturbances erupted in several boroughs, with reports of trouble in Enfield, Brixton, Walthamstow and Islington on Sunday.

There were more than 100 arrests in connection with the violence last night and this morning, and at least nine police officers were injured.

Home Secretary Theresa May has said she will come back from holiday to meet with senior police officers following the weekend's events.

The Home Office stressed she has been in constant touch with the Metropolitan Police about the violence.

Ms May said: "Those responsible for the violence and looting will be made to face the consequences of their actions.

"Many have been arrested and further arrests will be made.

"Londoners have made clear that there are no excuses for violence, and I call on all members of local communities to work constructively with the police to help them bring these criminals to justice."

Riot police and dog handlers were called to Enfield on Sunday evening after a group of youths caused damage to shops.

Disorder then spread to Brixton in the early hours of Monday morning, where a number of shops were also attacked.

Sky News reporter Mark Stone said Currys and Halfords had both been looted.

He said: "The entrance has been smashed in and there are appliance cables and instruction manuals strewn across the car park."

He said he was told that "hundreds of people were seen looting" and police were outnumbered.

Numerous people were seen carrying away looted goods, including boxed television sets.

Sporadic and widespread disturbances also hit north and east London.

Areas attacked included Turnpike Lane, Walthamstow, Chingford and Leyton, where shops were vandalised and broken into.

Three police officers were taken to hospital after being hit by a fast-moving vehicle at 12.45am, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.

The officers had been in the process of making arrests in Chingford Mount, Waltham Forest, after a shop was looted by youths.

Police described the spreading disorder as "copycat criminal activity".

The Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police, Steve Kavanagh, told Sky News the behaviour will "not be tolerated".

He said "the escalation in violence and criminality was considerable" and officers had been brought in from around London to help after Saturday's riots.

"We had three times more officers working on Sunday night, and we will have more on tonight," he added.

He said the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and Prime Minister were being kept informed of any developments.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "The people who have suffered are shop-keepers who have lost their shops, families who have lost their homes and the people who felt frightened in their own neighbourhoods."

The widespread unrest in the capital came after mass rioting in Tottenham on Saturday night and Sunday morning, which saw dozens of people arrested and more than 25 police officers injured.

Local business owners in north London estimated the cost of the damage ran into millions of pounds.

The rioting occurred after a peaceful protest was held in response to the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan.

The 29-year-old father-of-four died on Thursday after he was shot by police.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has started an investigation into the incident.

Graham Wettone, a former public order intelligence officer with the Metropolitan Police, said the violence caught everyone "unawares".

"This is wanton destruction and criminality, it is just stealing on a large scale.

"I think it had no link to Saturday - which was a vigil by a family at the police station.

"The police will start looking at what happened over the weekend. They will assess how they responded to it."