Riot 'Fightback': All Police Leave Cancelled

All police leave has been cancelled as the Prime Minister pledged to give officers whatever they need to combat rioting and looting.

The Home Secretary has ordered force chiefs to halt "all police leave" to deal with the disorder in England, which has now gone on for four straight nights.

Theresa May has said "maximising the police presence on the street must be a priority" in affected areas during a meeting with chief constables.

David Cameron declared a "fightback" was under way against the perpetrators of the violence and said water cannon were being made available at 24 hours' notice.

Speaking after he chaired the Government's second emergency Cobra meeting, Mr Cameron added: "It is clear there are things that are badly wrong in our society."

Sky's Martin Brunt says the option of water cannon will not be popular with all police officers.

"I think there are some chief constables who will say it is not a brilliant idea because they are very blunt weapons and they can only really be used in a big space," he said.

"Last night we saw cops chasing rioters down very narrow streets, the sort of places you cannot use water cannon..it is an intriguing prospect but it won't be welcome by all police chiefs."

Earlier Ms May said police have said they do not currently need the water cannon, but that it was "entirely right" to have contingency planning in place.

"It is entirely right that the Government doesn't rule anything out, that we have contingency planning there for whatever might be needed," Mrs May said.

Mr Cameron said over 750 people had been arrested since Saturday and 160 charged.

"We needed a fightback, and a fightback is under way," he said outside Downing Street.

"We have seen the worst of Britain, but I also believe we have seen some of the best of Britain - the million people who have signed up on Facebook to support the police, coming together in the clean-up operations."

He branded the situation "sick", adding: "When we see children as young as 12 and 13 looting and laughing, when we see the disgusting sight of a young man with people pretending to help him while they are robbing him, it is clear that there are things badly wrong with our society."

The Labour leader called for insurance payments to be fast tracked.

In a visit to Manchester to see the damage from Tuesday night's violence, Ed Miliband said: "We need to make sure the local council have the resources to help compensate businesses and families who have lost out."

Earlier Boris Johnson directly criticised Government policy by calling for plans to reduce police numbers to be reconsidered in the wake of the disturbances in UK towns and cities.

In response the PM said: "Mayors and local authorities always want more money. It is the Government's job to give them what they need."

He added that senior officers had reassured him that they had the resources they needed.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Conservative Mayor of London had said: "This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers."

He added that it would be a "good thing" if Ministers "had another look" at the issue.

But in a later interview with Sky News, Mr Johnson would not repeat the criticism and said: "All I want to make sure if we keep the numbers [of police] up across London.

"I want a sense of safety and calm to be restored."

He also said people could use "reasonable force" to protect their property but warned against "reckless vigilantism".

"I'm all in favour of people who in a friendly way are looking after their neighbours...you might start to wonder when it's being done by groups who are hostile to other groups, we don't want to see any of that," he told Sky News.

"I don't want to see people who are hostile to other people, that's clearly not what London is about...

"The common law says, you'd have to check...you may use reasonable restraint or reasonable force, that's seems to be ok...[it] is justified."

The Mayor's comments come after an unprecedented wave of disorder swept beyond London to regional areas.

Consecutive nights of unrest in London were calmed on the night that 16,000 police were drafted on to the city's streets.

The Prime Minister cut short his summer holiday and returned to Britain on Tuesday to chair the first Cobra meeting on the crisis.

Parliament will be recalled for a day on Thursday to discuss the disturbances.

Mr Cameron said the scenes of violence were "sickening" and pledged to "do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets and make them safe for the law abiding".

A poll by YouGov has found that 57% feel David Cameron is dealing with the situation badly, while 85% believe either a majority or most of those taking part in the riots will go unpunished.

Mr Miliband said victims of rioting "cannot be left to cope alone", calling on the Government to work with the insurance industry to help those businesses and individuals affected by the trouble.

"As we see in natural disasters like floods, we need focused support so that these victims of the violence get the support they need," the Labour leader said.

"That means the Government working with the insurance industry to put in place fast track procedures with immediate effect so that individuals and businesses making claims do not have to wait for the money they need to start putting things right."

Scotland Yard ruled out involving the Army for now but said police were "not scared" of using plastic bullets to bring the unprecedented riots under control.

The violence first erupted in Tottenham, north London, on Saturday night after a peaceful protest after Mark Duggan, 29, was fatally shot by police .

The Independent Police Complaints Commission confirmed that there was no evidence that Mr Duggan fired at officers before he was shot in the chest.

Mr Duggan's family said they were "deeply distressed" by the disorder across the country which has followed his death.

Mr Clegg had earlier said the trouble on Sunday night had nothing to do with the death of Mr Duggan, who was killed on August 4.

Read more about the riots here: