We needed a fightback and a fightback is under way

"We needed a fightback and a fightback is under way", the Prime Minister has said after four days of riots.

David Cameron said every action would be taken to restore order, with contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24 hours' notice.

On Tuesday night, unrest spread to cities including Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham, with shops being looted and set alight.

Three men died when they were hit by a car in Birmingham.

Mr Cameron, speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee said police were authorised to take "any action necessary" to bring the situation under control.

He said: "This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped. We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets.


"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."

The PM said more arrests would take place as police worked through CCTV evidence. "Picture by picture, the criminals are being identified and arrested," he said.

'We have your face'
Earlier, London Mayor Boris Johnson urged the government to reconsider its plans to cut police numbers, saying the argument had been "substantially weakened" by the riots.

Greater Manchester Police's Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said he had seen "the most sickening scenes" of his career, and said the force had been overwhelmed.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, he said force was "absolutely intent" on bringing the rioters to justice and officers were already studying CCTV.

"Hundreds and hundreds of people, we have your image, we have your face, we have your acts of wanton criminality on film. We are coming for you, from today and no matter how long it takes, we will arrest those people responsible," he said.

Some 113 people have been arrested so far over the trouble in Manchester and Salford, where hundreds of youths looted shops and set fire to cars and buildings.

In the West Midlands, 109 have been arrested and 23 charged following scenes of disorder in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich - where vehicles were set on fire.

Meanwhile, West Midlands Police are to question a 32-year-old man on suspicion of murder after three men were run over and killed.

One of the victims has been named as Haroon Jahan. His father Tariq Jahan paid tribute to him, saying he "had his whole life ahead of him".

In other developments:

Canning Circus police station in central Nottingham was firebombed by a male gang on Tuesday evening. Nottinghamshire Police said 90 people had been arrested
In Liverpool, Merseyside Police have arrested 50 people in relation to disorder in the city
Nine people have been arrested in Gloucester after police officers came under attack from youths throwing stones and bottles from 23:00 BST
In Leicester, a group of up to 100 youths attacked shops and threw items at police, with 13 arrests
In Bristol, police arrested 19 people following a second night of trouble
Thames Valley Police made 15 arrests linked to trouble overnight
Metropolitan Police have arrested 768 people and charged 105 in connection with the violence in the capital, including a 21-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life following a fire which took hold of the Reeves Furniture store in Croydon on Monday night
Officers from all eight Scottish Police forces are being sent to help colleagues in the Midlands and North of England deal with rioting and looting
A 26-year-old man found shot in a car in Croydon, amid rioting in the south London town, has died in hospital
Government minister Michael Gove has praised the Met's response to the riots, saying bringing in an extra 10,000 officers helped to prevent further riots from taking place in London
Meanwhile, two 18-year-olds in Folkestone, Kent, and a 19-year-old woman in Wakefield have been arrested. A 16-year-old boy in Glasgow was charged with breach of the peace while another man, aged 18, has been arrested. All relate to allegations of inciting violence through internet social networking sites
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said on Tuesday that ballistic tests presented "no evidence" that a handgun found at the scene where Mark Duggan, 29, was killed in Tottenham had been fired at officers
Wounded officers
Scotland Yard drafted in special constables and community support officers in London to ensure five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday - 16,000 - were on duty. They made 81 arrests.





Asst Chief Constable Garry Shewan: "We have your image, we have your face ... we are coming for you"
Downing Street said the increased level of policing would remain in place "as long as necessary" to prevent a repeat of the violence.

It said while there was "no complacency," police tactics in London had "clearly worked".

It followed three nights of rioting in the city which saw shops looted, property set alight and police attacked, with some 111 Met officers suffered injuries including serious head and eye wounds, cuts and fractured bones after being attacked by rioters wielding bottles, planks, bricks and even driving cars at them. Five police dogs have also been hurt.

The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Stephen Kavanagh said London deserved "some resilience and sustainability from police".

'Rapid response'
Referring to proposed police cuts, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "That case was pretty frail and it's been substantially weakened. This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers."

But the Home Office said the reductions in the police budget were manageable.

Labour leader Ed Miliband called for a "rapid response" from the government to help affected communities.

He urged the government to work 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".

The Association of British Insurers says the damage is likely to cost insurers "tens of millions of pounds".

The riots first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, by police.

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Regional business groups are warning that retail hotspots could become "ghost towns" as violence and looting spread across the country.

Regional business groups are warning that retail hotspots could become "ghost towns" as violence and looting spread across the country.


Miss Selfridge in central Manchester was set on fire
Shops in cities including Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Birmingham were targeted on Tuesday night causing damage that will "cost millions" to repair.
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) said the violence would severely hit business in the city.
"Repairs, stock replacement and lost trading time is going to costs millions of pounds and have a huge impact on takings," Chris Fletcher, deputy chief executive of the chamber, said.
But he stressed it is not just immediate costs that will hit businesses.

Looters run from police in Manchester
"This isn't a case of a few smashed windows – there will be severe knock-on effects," he added.
"There's the potential Manchester could become a ghost town, with shoppers scared of coming into the centre because they fear a repetition of violence."
Both independent shops and chain stores were affected by Tuesday's violence.

Shops in Croydon closed early on Tuesday in anticipation of further violence
Miss Selfridge in central Manchester was set on fire causing thousands of pounds worth of damage, and the city's Arndale shopping centre was broken into.
Elsewhere, rioters damaged premises including a McDonald's and the entrance to the Pyramid shopping centre in Birkenhead, Merseyside.
Looters also targeted electrical and jewellery shops in Birmingham, and vandalised shops in the Bullring and Mailbox shopping centres.
GMCC urged any businesses affected by the disturbances to contact the police and insurance companies as soon as possible.

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Operation to ensure strength of forces nationwide highlighted by rioting in Manchester and other cities that sent officers to London

National police coordinators are reviewing the mutual aid operation on "an hourly basis" after violence flared in cities which had sent officers to London leaving three men dead.

The logistical operation to make sure forces across the country have adequate numbers to tackle fast-moving flash points across the UK has been highlighted by the rioting on Tuesday in Manchester, Birmingham and other cities. In contrast the Metropolitan Police faced a quiet night with 16,000 officers on the streets – 1,500 of them sent from 30 other forces.

In Manchester riot teams were "overwhelmed", senior officers said. "We had to draw resources from all over the northwest to be able to ensure that we could protect life and property here in Manchester and Salford," said assistant chief constable Gary Shewan.

Manchester had sent 100 of its public order officers to London on Tuesday – raising serious concerns that as police forces moved to help the Metropolitan police they left themselves vulnerable.

In the West Midlands – where the officers were faced with a volatile and fast flowing situation – 163 arrests were made, bringing the overall total to around 300 since the disorder began.

The arrests were for a variety of offences including aggravated burglary, violent disorder and various other public order offences.

A total of six police officers have sustained minor injuries in the overnight disorder.

But in the midst of the rioting three men from a local mosque were mown down and killed by a car in the chaos. West Midlands did not sent officers to London but has been receiving mutual aid itself.

The Association of Chief Police officers, which is co-ordinating the mutual aid, said it was being reviewed on an hourly basis and if any force called for support their request would be met. The geographical spread of the looting and rioting and the difficulty of predicting where the flashpoints will come make the task difficult.

And there is concern that the very issue of mutual aid – and the publication of details of the 30 forces which have sent teams to London – has given looters information on which cities to target. The Police service of Northern Ireland refused to send officers – faced with disturbances in Belfast and the ongoing security situation there.

In London the sheer scale of the operation appears to have put off the looters. In addition the Met has made more than 768 arrests over the last four days, essentially taking a substantial proportion of those allegedly causing the trouble off the streets. But trouble flared in other areas including Wolverhampton, Nottingham where a mob firebombed the police station and college, with more than 90 troublemakers arrested and Leicester.

There was also trouble in Gloucester city centre, where mounted officers were deployed to combat groups of youths attacking shop windows, some with their faces covered and in Bristol police arrested 19 people following a second night of trouble.

The chief constable of Humberside, Tim Hollis is co-ordinating the mutual aid progamme. Commander Steven Kavanagh deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police told the Today programme the mutual aid operation was a national one to provide support for any force that needed it.

A spokesman for Acpo said the mutual aid programme was being reviewed on an "hourly basis" as the situation developed. With many officers from the north now in London there is also logistical problem. In some cases instead of officers returning to their home forces, others may be sent from nearby forces to help out tonight. "There is an issue of logistics and of the officers needing breaks. It may be better to send officers from other forces rather than return officers. But we are reviewing all of this," said a source.

The difficulties of coordinating a response to geographically disparate rioting led Boris Johnson, London's mayor to call for a rethink of government plans to cut 16,200 police officers. "This is not a time to think about making substantial cuts in police numbers," said Johnson.

 

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