12/08/2011 BBC News at Six

The police hit back at criticism of their response to the riots,

insisting that the tactics that worked were theirs. Both

politicians and the police are under pressure as questions are

asked almost one week on from the start of the violence. Clearly we

needed to act this week to get control of the streets, to get them

back for the law-abiding. The police did that, they did change

tactics, they did increase police numbers, that was the right thing

to do. The vital distinction between policing and politics

remains. The Police Service will make the tactical decisions and

quite rightly and robustly we should and must be held to account.

After more arrests over looting public appeals for information that

could bring the perpetrators to justice. They've all been brought

up to think there's no worse crime than grassing, doesn't matter what

you do, you do not grass. A man's arrested for murder after a

pensioner badly injured in the London riots dies in hospital. Also

coming up: Another turbulent week for the financial markets but

shares in London end on a positive note.

In Syria, troops open fire on protesters as international

condemnation grows. And in cricket, Alastair Cook smashes a double

century as England dominate India in the third Test.

Later in the hour: All the sport as trainer Howard Johnson plans to

retire after being given a four- year ban by the British Horse

Good evening, welcome to the BBC News at Six. Police officers have

hit back at suggestions that it was the intervention of politicians

that proved decisive in their handling of the riots. After

criticism of their tactics from the Prime Minister senior officers

today said they had faced a unique situation and that they alone had

been responsible for a shift to more robust policing. For the first

of tonight's reports our home editor Mark Easton looks at the

political and the police response to the riots.

A week after the riots began, senior police officers and

Government politicians have indulged in a public row as each

seeks to avoid any blame for the lawlessness. Emerging from the

latest meeting of the emergency planning committee COBRA the acting

head of Scotland Yard made a barbed remark at criticism of the police

operation by Ministers who were still on holiday at the time.

think after any event like this there are always people that will

make comment that weren't there... It's clear many officers are

furious at suggestions that police only got their act together when

politicians banged the table. be clear on one thing, the vital

distinction between policing and politics remains and the Police

Service will make the tactical decisions and quite rightly and

robustly we should and must be held to account, if we are not the

system fails. Yesterday Government Ministers accused police of putting

too few officers on the street, being too slow to respond, and too

timid in dealing with looters. Today, the Home Secretary had

nothing but praise for the police response. What I accept was that

people who got the riots under control were the police, the brave

policemen and women out there on the frontline dealing with the

riots, as they were happening. troubling sight of law and order in

retreat this week means that for politicians and police alike the

stakes in this affair remain very high. The politics of the riots is

shifting, from condemnation and measures to restore public order

and confidence, to broader questions about our culture, our

society and our values. The leaders of the three main political parties

in England were all talking about learning hresz -- the lessons of

the riots. In Monday police in Brixton were pursuing looters,

today Labour's leader found himself pursued by his own angry supporters.

These people have nothing to lose. They've no stake in society and no

social mobility at all. We need the Labour Party, we des...

criticism is politicians have been too quick to condemn and too slow

to try to understand. Nice to meet you. Are there social reasons for

this. Of course there are. Shouldn't you be discussing those,

rather than talking about criminality all the time. I think

the first priority was to restore public order and to make clear that

we were never going to excuse what happened but excusing is not the

same as explaining and now we are into the phase where we have to try

and explain what happened. Tuesday a police station in

Nottingham was firebombed. Today the Lib Dem leader paid a visit.

have to ask ourselves why an 11- year-old girl or young teenagers

feel that they've so little stake in their own neighbourhood, in

their own community, that they've so little sense of belonging that

they go around trashing it. Central Manchester was the scene of

widespread looting on Tuesday night. Today, the Prime Minister was in

the city to meet emergency services before appearing on the BBC. David

Cameron was asked whether there wasn't a difference between the

attitude towards greedy looters and greedy bankers or greedy MPs?

People who cheat in banking and who - they should be punished. MPs who

cheat on expenses should be punished and there are MPs in

prison today and rightly so too. The example isn't being set from

the top. We need responsibility in our country, but it can't be used

as an excuse. The huge extra police presence will remain this weekend.

No one dare suggests this crisis can be described as over. In many

ways, the questions are just beginning.

Let's go live to our political correspondent Iain Watson in

Downing Street. After all this talk about a rift between the

politicians and the police what about divides within the

politicians? Well, let's start with one point of agreement at least

between the politicians as we heard from Mark Easton, Ed Miliband and

the Prime Minister agree that a lack of responsibility in some

sections of society could be to blame for the kind of scenes we

have seen on the streets recently. The difficulty comes when you start

to look at potential solutions to all this. We have had some tough

talking from Number 10 this week because the officials behind that

door will tell you it was so important that the Prime Minister

was seen to be getting a grip on all of this, this week. Now the

Prime Minister has been floating ideas which are proving quite

controversial, for example, with drawing benefits from some rioters

or shutting down social networks temporarily such as Twitter. Labour

have been warning against knee-jerk solutions but more significantly

inside the coalition senior Liberal Democrats are telling me it's

unlikely that some of that tough rhetoric will become reality when

the current tensions subside. you.

The Prime Minister's said tonight that he's heartened with how

quickly those charged with riots are being processed by the criminal

justice system. With the number of arrests now above 1,600 magistrates

in London again worked through the night to deal with cases. In

Manchester, one of those appearing in court was an 18-year-old charged

with setting fire to a branch of Miss Selfridge. Our UK affairs

correspondent Chris Buckler has this assessment of how the

offenders are being handled. Following the havoc of the last

week the courts have begun revealing just who was responsible,

including two young footballers. Some Some people have been remanded

in custody, including a teenager who denies starting this fire that

destroyed a store. Others have been jailed, including a man who left

the disorder in Salford because he heard the riots in Manchester were

better. But in an estate just minutes from where some of this

week's violence took place there are people prepared to admit that

they could have got caught up in all of the looting. I went through

Salford after that had happened if I saw something on the floor I

would have took it home. Is that not wrong? Of course it is but

that's what I mean, like I don't know, I think - if I had a phone

with loads of pictures I would want to give it back, but if I picked up

something mass produced and you could get millions of them and it

was just there on the floor I would take it home. After the damage done

in cities across the country the Government has promised swift

justice. This 13-year-old boy went to the riots with a hammer strapped

to his leg. He can't be identified because of his age, and the judge

said he only escaped prison because of his youth. And in Manchester

City centre the faces of other people suspected of causing the

chaos. The police asking for people to shop those who destroyed its

stores. In the last 24 hours two mothers have handed in a 15-year-

old and 13-year-old boy. Their sons. They've handed them in to the

police because they saw their pictures in the newspaper.

Salford most shops are open again, but the destruction was the last

thing it needed. Jobs are hard to come by, youth unemployment is high

and child poverty and crime are both genuine problems. People got

no money. People are going to do things like that, it's opportunists.

Many here are anything but sympathetic. But there is a fear of

being seen to talk to the police. They've all been brought up to

think there's no worse crime than grassing, doesn't matter what you

do, you do not grass. Do you not think it's important that people do

go forward and give information? course I do. Excuse me, I went to

court, didn't I? I suffered for a long time because of it. I couldn't

walk past anyone in the street without being spat at. The public

mood is clear, there is a desire to see people punished. Today the

prison population in England and Wales hit an all-time high, but

Leroy Grant who spent ten years in jail for armed robbery questions

whether that will help prevent further crime. They've given out

sentences of four months and six months, yeah, it's absolutely

farcical. What's going to happen now in four weeks' time those

people are going to be out anyway, there's no point sending them to

prison. The trouble with this country... But you were in prison

at one stage. Yeah, I have been to some tough jails. Did that not

deter you? If anything, it made me worse. However f the police appeals

are successful, those who have already appeared in court will be

joined by many others in being named and shamed.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the

death of a 68-year-old man who was badly injured in rioting in west

London on Monday night. Richard Mannington Bowes was attacked as he

tried to stamp out a fire. Our home affairs correspondent June Kelly

has the latest on what's becoming known as the Ealing murder.

The heart of a suburban shopping centre is now a place where people

are coming to remember a life lost. It was at the start of the week the

attack took place in Ealing in west London. Today, it became a murder

inquiry. Richard Mannington Bowes was 68. He had lost touch with his

family. It was only yesterday that he was finally identified. He was

said to have been set upon as he recommend straighted with rioters

who set fire to a bin. As he tried to put the fire out he was attacked.

His leg was lying very close to the fire. I got the young lads to help

me move him to here at least his torso and head was protected

because on the left was the riot willing youths -- riot willing

youths and they were throwing stones down the road to the police.

So it was a vulnerable position. This is the flat where Richard

Mannington Bowes lived. It's a short distance from where he was

attacked. He was known as someone who would confront people if they

were behaving in an anti-social way. He may have been a quiet man, but

he thought that wrong-doers needed to be challenged. In the

neighbourhood nobody knew him well, he was seen as a solitary figure

but he was a familiar face to local business people. It's just really

awful thing that someone who was obviously just very quiet, gentle

kind of guy, obviously was trying to help put out the fires. He was

quietly dignified. He reminded me of a bygone age when people said

please and thank you and were courtious to each other. He

symbolised that generation which seems to be lost for the time being.

At Ealing town hall the flag is at half mast as a mark of respect.

was a gentleman who went out of his way to look after the neighbourhood,

tell people not to drop litter, that kind of thing and he

intervened to stop the looting. He paid a terrible, terrible price.

One man is currently under arrest, and police are appealing to anyone

who can help their inquiry to come forward.

The police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission has

admitted tonight that it may have misled journalists into believing

the man who was shot dead by police last Thursday fired shots at police

first. Mark Duggan, who was 29, was shot by officers in Tottenham. His

death sparked the initial riots in London.

Our correspondent Jon Brain joins us now from Tottenham. What are

they saying there? In the immediate aftermath of the shooting the IPCC

came under a lot of criticism for allegedly not giving enough

information about the shooting and not giving it quickly enough. It's

now admitted that some of the information it did give may have

been misleading. Mark Duggan received two shots, one hit him

ined chest and killed him, the other one passed through his arm

and became lodged in the police radio. Now the IPCC says that

because of that second bullet it wrongly assumed there had been an

exchange of fire, that Mark Duggan had actually used his gun. Well,

tonight it's admitted that was wrong and has apologised for giving

a misleading impression. As for Mark Duggan himself, well tonight

here in Tottenham people are gathering to remember him in a

local community centre. There will be more on the riots

later in the programme. Now the rest of the news: Stock markets

across the world have ended the week up after an apparent increase

in confidence in the eurozone and a rise in US retail sales. With me is

our chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym. How did the FTSE did here

in London? Well, it's been another white knuckle ride for investors

this week. Let's look at how the FTSE has done over the last few

days. The real volatility this week, down a lot on Monday, back up on

Tuesday. Then starting to fall again in the middle of the week.

The reason there, worries across Europe about French French banks

and who they lent money to and how that might affect other economies.

The French and a couple of other national authorities have banned

certain types of speculation in bank shares and that seems to have

steadied the mood today across Europe. So ending on an upnote.

Investors will be asking what is going to happen next week.

The United States has urged leaders across the world to get on the

right side of history and sever ties with Syria. The call from

Hillary Clinton came as Syrian security forces reportedly fired

again on protesters, killing two of them.

Despite five months in the firing line, Syrians still pour onto the

streets demanding the regime must go. This footage appears to be from

POW lab today. Tear gas and fire can be heard. Protests across the

country. Snatched pictures show security forces killing civilians,

prompting the United States to step up the pressure on others to

increase sanctions against President Asad's regime. But

Washington is tiptoeing around the question. Should it call directly

on President Asad to go? So far, it has stopped short of that, fearful

he will not go and American authority will be damaged. Instead,

the United States is urging India, China and Russia to stop arms sales

to Syria. We urge those countries still buying Syrian or oil and gas,

those countries still sending President Asad weapons, those

countries whose political and economic support given comfort in

his brutality, to get on the right side of history. -- give him

comfort. Right now, the European viewers that refusing to buy Syrian

or oil and gas would hit ordinary Syrians harder than the regime, but

some supporters of the Serbian opposition say that tougher

sanctions of the way forward. Perhaps if the EU gets on board the

sanctions, which have been called for by human-rights organisations,

that might concentrate the mind of President Bashar al-Assad, at have

to make some kind of settlement. Now, the regime seems to judge

violence as the only way to hold on to power.

Our top story tonight, the Prime Minister visits police as officers

hit back at criticism of their tactics during this week's writing.

Coming up, or Morgan hit a century as England's Anson and run it India

ragged at Edgbaston. -- batsmen. And on the way, David Pleat is with

me as Manchester United begin their Four months ago, she was fighting

for her life in a Libyan hospital with 30 separate pieces of shrapnel

lodged in her body. Arwa was a casualty of the war between rebels

and pro-Gaddafi forces. Just one of the thousands injured since the

civilian -- uprising began in February. Orla Guerin has returned

to Misrata to find Arwa. Her report Six years old, and in agony. This

is Arwa as we last saw her, in April. A child of Misrata, and a

victim of the regime. Lacerated by shrapnel. And this is her today.

How why you? -- how are you? And Coleman back to normal, her family

say. There are reminders all round of the Grand rocket that landed on

her doorstep and ruptured her childhood. -- Grand rocket. Arwa

will carry her scars for life. Her grandfather says that she has

managed to forget her injuries, but when she hears explosions, earthier

his back. "I get scared, I run inside." She tells us this in a

whisper. Her wish list includes a bicycle and the chance to go to

school. When the schools are open again, I want to go there, she says,

to learn how to read and write. This is Arwa's retreat, a pigeon

loft where she plays with her cousins. But her grandfather fears

that children cannot escape the lessons of Colonel Gaddafi.

TRANSLATION: He is teaching them knew things about war, destruction,

and killing. Arwa's wounds have healed, at least the physical ones.

Her dream is to be a singer. But war could rewrite her future.

His batting almost single-handedly won England the Ashes and today

Allister could rewrote the record books once again. He hit 294 in the

third Test against India at Edgbaston. A short while ago,

England declared on 710 for seven. Let us put today's play into its

context historically. England have never ever scored a higher total.

Alastair Cook's 294 the highest score by any one ever on this

ground. In the context of world cricket, it proves that England can

humble any team. Even India's superstars.

India's -- India arrived at England as the best team in the world. On

reputation, they still command an audience. In form, they are sinking

without a trace. England's dominance was epitomised by

Alastair Cook, calmly collecting runs in a way no other batsman

manages. Huge scores depend on skill and stamina. Watch him

sprinting like a man at the start of his innings as he took his score

to 200. As England's total headed to 600, the scoreboard could not

cope. More seriously, a Power overload put paid to the

floodlights. It was too dark to continue for a while and that was

the happiest India looked for a while. Normal service quickly

resumed, or Morgan's turn to complete a century. His

contribution reinforced England's ascendancy. By his own high

standards, this was an Everest innings for Cook. Past 250, passed

his previous best. Boundaries were rare but Tendulkar could only scare,

remembering when he used to do this kind of thing. -- could only stare.

It was hard to know who was more surprised at 294, was at Cook

remembering that he is human? -- was it Cook.

To night's main story, the riots that have taken place in parts of

England this week. The scenes of public disorder have sparked a

debate on the challenges facing our society. But for many who have lost

homes or businesses, there are more immediate concerns. Our special

Correspondent looks at the aftermath of the riots and the

impact they have had on ordinary people.

In a Tottenham leisure centre, we found the spirit of a better London.

Thousands of donations to commend to help those who have lost their

homes. Clothes, bedding, towels, books, children's toys. It is the

quiet generosity of the majority. This couple need his help for now.

They lost everything when their home was burnt to the ground.

you look at the building, you feel empty. You feel like you have lost

your freedom, everything. But it is not about the furniture and the

refrigerator or something like that, it is about memories, it is about

the things you were saving from your childhood, the gifts that you

get from your mother, or of the gifts you get from your husband

when he first met. Tottenham High Road is a battered mess. The clear-

up has begun. Everywhere, waste is evident. This is all that is left

of this to a shop. It is clear from the accounts that have emerged that

many people were doubly a shocked - - doubly shocked by what face-off.

Shocked by the violence and the spirit of malice, the gratuitous

vindictiveness of many of the rioters, who seems to take delight

and pleasure in their own destructiveness. That has been

profoundly unsettling. This hairdressing salon was trashed and

looted on Monday. The owner fled in terror. She told me the rioters go-

getter for looking scares -- looking scared. I have never been

that scared, not even as a child. Having to run for your life, not

knowing what is happening to your property, I spent all might not

being able to sleep. More than half the Victims' Tsar have interviewed

have been immigrants. A Congolese bar rota, a Kurdish restaurant

owner. -- bar owner. They have all built a stake in London. Why has

the same city also produced so many young people with no similar sense

of belonging. The if the situation was not as it was, if we did not

have young people unemployed, if there were services, if we had

qualified professionals working with young people, it would not

have happened. Public opinion may not be ready for this. Can you

blame poverty without excusing the will full criminality that did

this? This is the broom to clean up the place. London is calmly picking

up the pieces, but the shock of what happened endures.

what happened endures. Let us take a look at the weather

with Alex Deakin. Sunshine has been hard to find

during the course of today. Before we get to the weekend, it is going

to be a damp night. It will be a wet night across Scotland, turning

drier across Northern Ireland. For England and Wales, the rain will be

messy. Warm and humid, 15 or 16 in the south. Starting rather grey. It

will be a dismal start across the East Anglia and the south-east. For

many, it will be a dry day. Some places will get a bit of sunshine.

Overall, expect it to be cloudy. Hopefully, it will be dry at

Edgbaston for the Test match and it may well get brighter. In the

south-east, after a damp start it will turn brighter. Still humid

here. Fresher across the south-west. Overall, dry and fine. Sunshine is

possible to the east of the mirrors. The same goes across Wales. --

mirrors. Cloudy, too, for Northern Ireland. One are to share as

possible. Sher is drifting into western Scotland through the day. -

- one or two showers. The rain will lingering Shetland but it will be

gone by Sunday. The possibility of rain overnight and Saturday. Some

showers dotted around but overall Sunday will be brighter. So, yes,

Gray, first thing on Saturday morning, but it should turn

morning, but it should turn brighter with sunny spells. More

weather details online for a start thank you very much.