UK Promoted Newswire Archive
Nottingham Riots: Boarding up + Police Standby
11-08-2011 15:55
Wednesday 10th August 2011
Nottinghamshire Police mounted an operation across Nottingham City over the last few night.
After the disorder over the last couple of nights, wednesday was much quieter.
In a statement, the police say that they had over 800 officers on duty to police the situation. A large number of PSU's were deployed and were added to by units from Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. Mounted officers were also deployed.
Damage was done to 5 Nottingham Police Stations. and a number of city centre shops were damaged and now boarded up. On monday night, the Victoria Centre entrance and glass in shops there were also smashed.
Nottinghamshire Police issued a detail statement of events at: http://tinyurl.com/3nd2rw9
They now report 105 arrests. 60 so far have been charged. They say: "The force is actively looking to make further arrests and will continue to gather evidence to do so."
Nottingham Riots: Canning Circus Police Stn Damage
Nottingham Riots: Boarding up + Police Standby
Riots spread to Nottingham [Nottingham Indymedia Feature]
Summer of Unrest: an indymedia overview of the 'riots' [UK Mayday Feature]
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
Nottingham Riots: Tuesday pix 1
11-08-2011 15:55
Tuesday 9th August 2011
Nottinghamshire Police mounted an operation across Nottingham City over the last few night.
In a statement, the police say that they had over 800 officers on duty to police the situation. A large number of PSU's were deployed and were added to by units from Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. Mounted officers were also deployed.
Damage was done to 5 Nottingham Police Stations. and a number of city centre shops were damaged and now boarded up. On monday night, the Victoria Centre entrance and glass in shops there were also smashed.
Nottinghamshire Police issued a detail statement of events at: http://tinyurl.com/3nd2rw9
They now report 105 arrests. 60 so far have been charged. They say: "The force is actively looking to make further arrests and will continue to gather evidence to do so."
Nottingham Riots: Canning Circus Police Stn Damage
Nottingham Riots: Boarding up + Police Standby
Riots spread to Nottingham [Nottingham Indymedia Feature]
Summer of Unrest: an indymedia overview of the 'riots' [UK Mayday Feature]
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
Nottingham Riots: Tuesday pix 2
11-08-2011 15:55
Tuesday 9th August 2011
Nottinghamshire Police mounted an operation across Nottingham City over the last few night.
In a statement, the police say that they had over 800 officers on duty to police the situation. A large number of PSU's were deployed and were added to by units from Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. Mounted officers were also deployed.
Damage was done to 5 Nottingham Police Stations. and a number of city centre shops were damaged and now boarded up. On monday night, the Victoria Centre entrance and glass in shops there were also smashed.
Nottinghamshire Police issued a detail statement of events at: http://tinyurl.com/3nd2rw9
They now report 105 arrests. 60 so far have been charged. They say: "The force is actively looking to make further arrests and will continue to gather evidence to do so."
Nottingham Riots: Canning Circus Police Stn Damage
Nottingham Riots: Boarding up + Police Standby
Riots spread to Nottingham [Nottingham Indymedia Feature]
Summer of Unrest: an indymedia overview of the 'riots' [UK Mayday Feature]
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
Clapahm Junction - the aftermath
11-08-2011 15:55
After the riot and the cleanup, a lot of shops are boarded up and the securing was still going on yesterday, while the first windows were being rapaired as well. Smashed up shops included charity shops, and small shops, besides the big chains, phone and betting shops.
Some shops were boarded up, but already open for business again, which seems to indicate that while they had glass damage, the interior wasn't damaged too badly and they had enough stock left to continue trading.
Nottingham Riots: Canning Circus Police Stn Damage
11-08-2011 15:55
Tuesday 9th August 2011
Nottinghamshire Police mounted an operation across Nottingham City over the last few night.
In a statement, the police say that they had over 800 officers on duty to police the situation. A large number of PSU's were deployed and were added to by units from Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. Mounted officers were also deployed.
Damage was done to 5 Nottingham Police Stations. and a number of city centre shops were damaged and now boarded up. On monday night, the Victoria Centre entrance and glass in shops there were also smashed.
Nottinghamshire Police issued a detail statement of events at: http://tinyurl.com/3nd2rw9
They now report 105 arrests. 60 so far have been charged. They say: "The force is actively looking to make further arrests and will continue to gather evidence to do so."
Nottingham Riots: Canning Circus Police Stn Damage
Nottingham Riots: Boarding up + Police Standby
Riots spread to Nottingham [Nottingham Indymedia Feature]
Summer of Unrest: an indymedia overview of the 'riots' [UK Mayday Feature]
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
London Riots: Life in the Rolling War Zone
11-08-2011 13:55
London is on edge, twitchy; a tense atmosphere pervades the city, in the office, on the train, on the streets. The crowds have thinned, people scuttle to and from work, before the darkness descends; shopkeepers stand outside and keep an eye on the situation on the street, while nervous rumours spread, conversation can't keep off the topic, and for the moment at least, London has lost its haughty smugness. Instead, there hangs a heavy atmosphere, perhaps even reflective, as the consequences of the great engine of power's greed and corruption comes back to haunt it. But, at least we haven't heard about the Olympics for a while.
The Met's murder of Mark Duggan last week, and the subsequent attack on a peaceful demonstrator at the vigil, has caused a wildfire – hotter and more vicious than could ever be predicted - that has spread across the capital and beyond; the untouchable Met – responsible for the murders of Ian Tomlinson, Smiley Culture and so many others – are at last getting some comeuppance, having been protected so far by the not-so-independent IPCC. But there is little pleasure in this for most, because people are scared: will I get home tonight, will I be robbed or attacked, why can't all this be over? But maybe we citizens of London are at last coming face to face with what it must be like to live on a bad estate, or even a war zone, faced with the reality that the City forces on to others, in other places, far from view.
The media has up built up a hysterical frenzy, the politicians are back from hols (hope it was lovely), the police are overstretched, the spin doctors coining terms like “criminality”, and now the right-wing Breiviks of the EDL, NF and BNP are declaring themselves guardian protectors of the community. Last night these right-wing fascists threatened to march from Eltham to Lewisham, in Southeast London to spark a full-scale race war (bringing back memories of the 1970's New Cross Fire and the Battle of Lewisham), while the BBC declared that it wasn't covering the event because it “didn't want to encourage rioters” (rather hypocritical since its covering the riots in Eltham tonight). Londoners are stuck between a rock and a hard place – do you get into bed with the distasteful authoritarians and disciplinarians, or face the wrath of the unsettled hornets' nest of youth? We shouldn't have to be faced with this simple choice, so calculated and engineered, the old lesser-of-two-evils trick (eg Labour vs Conservative) that maintains the “elected oligarchy”.
But already people are finding ways to come together to combat threats to small businesses and local streets by forming self-defence units, which the Met has called “vigilantes”, no doubt afraid that their monopoly on community safety will be challenged. These have generally been formed where there already exists a traditional community, whether ethnic or organic (ie built up over time), while the rest of the city locks themselves behind doors trapped by their isolated individualism. Other outcomes have been street cleaning groups and donation centres, where those who have lost their homes in the riots can pick up donated goods; Londoners have sought to direct their fear into positive actions, into mutual aid (a bedrock of anarchism), instead of internalising it into the racial hatred, bigotry and hysteria of the Daily Mail reader.
Regarding the rioters and looters, there seems a cross-section of characteristics, from the polite and helpful (seen in a number on Indy articles, such as those warning others to watch out for their possessions) to the more shark-like (or the fashionable word at the moment, “feral”), who would attack or steal anything from anyone. While the media and bigots would have us believe they are all former, it cannot be doubted that there is a range; nevertheless, if people are to have solidarity with the rioters, then the attacks on small businesses, public transport, homes, cyclists and people must end. There need to be clear ground-rules that these must never be targets, and some sort of code within the rioters themselves that such acts will be prevented or punished. Secondly, attacks on our local areas, which are generally shit-holes anyway, need to stop; sure, they are easy targets but the real wealth of the corrupt oligarchs of West London, the City boys in the Docklands, and all the white-collar criminals in London have remained untouched. If you want people to stand behind you, to cheer you on, and get real loot into the bargain, then these are targets more worthy of the rioters' brilliantly effective tactics.
If these actions are to move beyond the spectacular and become a movement for social justice, for more than just harsher repression after the fires have died away, then rioters need to work more intelligently. By reassuring Londoners that they are not, and will not, be victims of attack, is a start; you will need everyone's solidarity afterwards. By choosing your targets cleverly – like the large supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsburys) who undercut small farmers and local businesses, banks and money shops who steal from us all daily, large retailers who use sweat-shop labour, and so on – the riots become “political” (ie with purpose), which commentators can't dismiss as “mindless” (ie in anger).
Let us hope this becomes something more, something liberatory and not just a flash in the pan, followed by severe repression. Good luck, stay safe and all power to the streets.
Riot Special: The Circled A Radio show with ALARM
11-08-2011 08:17
Manchester Riots - 9th August
10-08-2011 21:55
Greater Manchester Police arrested 113 people overnight on Tuesday 9th August
as thousands of youths ransacked shops, attacked officers and torched cars in the city centre.
Mr Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley & Broughton, said he believed the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police "has a lot to answer for".
"It was known that this was coming to Salford and Manchester, and now shops have been looted and set on fire
"The police knew it was coming. It was co-ordinated and organised by well-known criminals and gangsters.
"A lot more people should have been arrested for inciting this kind of behaviour."
"There were occasions where the crowds were so large and so violent that it would have been unsafe to deploy a handful of officers into those situations."
Meanwhile, hundreds of people joined council staff and business owners in a clean-up operation across the city centre, sweeping up broken glass and wreckage from the devastation caused the night before.
Ed Miliband, Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition toured the city centre today speaking with council leaders, the police and local business owners.
All Images © Stillshooter 2011. More at: http://stillshooter.photoshelter.com
An eyewitness perspective on the riots in Salford and Manchester
10-08-2011 20:26
Hearing so many conflicting accounts and theories about the nature and motives behind the London riots, when things kicked off in Salford and Manchester, we decided we'd better go to go into town and see first hand what was going on. Most importantly, we wanted to get a sense of who was on the streets and what they were about.Palestine Today 08 10 2011
10-08-2011 15:13
Palestine Today 08 09 2011
09-08-2011 15:12
Hackney photos
08-08-2011 23:55
Photos taken earlier this evening.
Cops attacking kids in the Hackney Central/Pembury Estate area
Full article | 1 addition | 3 comments
Birmingham's Militant Consumer Tour
08-08-2011 22:21
Eyewitness account from Edmonton 'riot'
08-08-2011 17:14
The police were clearly psyched up and frustrated that they couldn’t break more heads. One man, who happened to be both young and black, but in the area to monitor policing for the network for police monitoring, was arrested for obstructing police after he refused to give a name and address. In the back of the police van he was then repeatedly punched in the face leaving him with cuts, bruises and a bleeding lip.
If this is a typical example of how the police treat local black and working class youths – and there is every reason to think that it is – then it isn’t difficult to understand the anger and rage that exists.
UK Antifascist Prisoners – Latest info
08-08-2011 14:27
London riots: focus on Holloway
08-08-2011 04:25
Report of about 3 hours in Islington - from midnight (beginning of the day), today.
I headed out about midnight. It wasn't clear what was going on - lots of rumours, but who do you trust on twitter? I didn't know anyone in my area, so I figured I had to see whatever was happening (or not) with my own eyes. The most consistent reports were saying Holloway, but others mentioned Angel, too, so I decided to head down there first.
I headed out, and immediately saw a police car, prowling the back streets of Dalston area. However, I couldn't keep up - and he didn't look as if he knew where he was going either. So off to Angel, where, not surprisingly, it was extremely quiet. The only evidence of anything was:
- the police station (car park) was empty
- there were two innocent looking bobbies standing outside sainsburys, opposite the N1 shopping centre.
Was this it? I stopped to file a post, during which the bobbies wandered over and warned me to get out of there: "We have intelligence that that place over there is about to be firebombed in the next few minutes." I cycled around a little while longer looking for the likely candidates, but there were none (other than the cops: are they really that stupid)?
Thus, next stop Holloway. Initially, it didn't seem much was happening. A bunchy of kids outside maccieDs at Nags Head corner of Seven Sisters and Holloway Rds, but nothing really untoward, and no smashed windows. At this point, it pissed it down, so I sheltered under a shop front/awning and posted a few tweets (I'd link to it all, but can't figure out how! Check out https://indy.im/gdm or the relay on my twitter relay: gdm_uk for the full timeline) While I was standing there, cops suddenly chased a bunch of youth down a side street, so I followed after a few moments later. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by about 6 cop cars - a mixture of undercover and panda cars - who all stopped in the middle of the road and chased off on foot after some youngsters. Another passerby, a woman, and I just looked at each other, and both commented how we thought we had been about to get nicked. We wandered up the road, back towards Holloway Road a couple of blocks north of Seven Sisters, to find a bunch of cops sitting on one guy and frogmarching another guy back towards us and the patrol cars. Across Holloway Road, another guy was also getting busted.
I hung on the side road for a few minutes, trying to take some photos with my camera phone. The cops weren't terribly impressed, but I ended up chatting with them, explaining I wasn't obstructing them and that I wasn't causing trouble. They were all full of testosterone and adrenaline (even the women, it seemed) and a few of them were bolshy and tried to argue with me. One guy, an Irishman I think, said he'd had nothing as a kid when I told him that the (current) kids were bored, poor, desperate and had no future. I decided our opinions were too diverse so I might as well move on, but I guess I conversed with them for a good few minutes.
Over the road it was a different story. I took another couple of photos from a few yards away, but the cops were mostly obscuring a guy who was sat on the ground. I'm not sure if he was cuffed or not (I don't think so), as I couldn't really see, so I moved around behind them to try and take another photo. At this point, Officer EK102 came over and tried to patronise me. He told me that he was allowed to confiscate my phone in order to get the pictures for evidence. I told him he wasn't, but I was happy to call my lawyer to check. He threatened to arrest me. I refused to give him the phone. This continued for a minute or two. He then asked me to see the photo and said I could delete it. This I did, as I had no intention of spending a night down the nick, and it was all blurry anyway. But I'm sure his actions were illegal, and I will be investigating making a complaint tomorrow.
Where next? Well, I'm getting tired so going to cut it short. There's lots of detail on https://indy.im/gdm and I'll try to post some more photos tomorrow. There was one point I was about to leave, when behind me came the smashing of glass. Turning around, I saw CarPhone Warehouse on the corner of Nags Head getting smashed in, but almost immediately an undercover car pulled up alongside, cops exited and chased after the gang of people who were gathered there. The hammer remained on the floor, as seen in the photo... well, the photo doesn't seem to be uploading, i will try again tomorrow. For now, I'm afraid I have to sleep.
Solidarity, and good luck!
Brixton Road Pics - Foot Locker + H&M
08-08-2011 02:55
Police were very few, very tense and very ineffective. Foot Locker was up in flames, while H&M was being looted. Marks and Spencers, Bodyshop, McDonalds and most other shops on Brixton Road had glass damage, while other places like the games shop at the corner to Ferndale Road and William Hill on Stockwell Road have big gaping holes and look like some things might have gone missing.
The H&M was being attacked and looted with the police guarding the burning Foot Locker just up the road on the other side of Brixton Station. People inside were trying on things before deciding whether they were worth nicking. Shortly after the H&M was opened up to the public, most of the people on the streets took off towards Effra Road. Rumors said that some people were trying to break into Curry's and Halfords between Mervan and Trelawn Road.
This turned out to be true. Heading down there later, police went into the parking lot and had the crowd pushed back towards Brixton Water Lane. After taking the long route round, approaching the situation from the South, the police line had moved back to the other end of the parking lot, leaving Curry's open to the crowd.
Loads of people were on the streets, carrying large screens and laptops, even driving up in cars. While quite a few people were masked up, many were not, and we will see if the CCTV was good enough to be able to recognise number plates. The rain might have hampered vision, but the brazenness and festival atmosphere was amazing. People were chatting to each other and running around with big smiles on their faces.
A Festive Night in Brixton
08-08-2011 02:55
The atmosphere was alternately tense and festive in Brixton tonight. After last night's riots in Tottenham, sparked by the police shooting of Mark Duggan on Thursday, riots spread all over London this evening.
People took advantage of heavy rains and miniscule police presence, turning the whole town from Stockwell to Tulse Hill into a free-shop. Every major chain store and bank had their windows smashed in, and notable looting took place at the Currys electronics store on Effra Road. Hundreds of people walked out of there with big-screen TVs, laptops, and other big-ticket items, as the police looked on helplessly. Cars were lined up on both sides of Effra Road for several hundred meters from Currys to Brixton Water Lane, as people loaded them up.
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