Youths fought running battles with police in English cities and towns overnight but London, where thousands of extra police were deployed, was largely peaceful after three turbulent nights in which youths rampaged in parts of the capital virtually unchecked
Manchester and Liverpool in the northwest and Birmingham in central England suffered the worst of the overnight violence which broke out in north London on Saturday after a protest over a police shooting of a suspect two days earlier.
In Birmingham, police launched a murder inquiry after three Muslim men died after being run over by a car in the mayhem.
A friend of the men told BBC radio they had been part of a group of British Asians protecting their area from looters after attending Ramadan prayers at a mosque.
"The car swerved towards them. It was cold-blooded murder," the friend said.
London itself was largely quiet, with some 16000 police - 10000 more than on Monday - sent onto the streets in a show of force in districts where gangs of hooded youths had looted shops and burned cars and buildings on the previous three nights.
Stephen Kavanagh, deputy assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said officers would be out in force again last night.
"Tonight we are going to plan for the worst again, that is what London deserves," he told BBC radio.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who cut short a family holiday in Italy to deal with the crisis, was due to chair a second meeting of COBRA, the government's crisis committee, and recalled parliament - a rare occurrence - to debate the violence.
The looting showed the world an ugly side of London less than a year before it hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, an event officials hope will serve as a showcase for the city.
A visit by an International Olympic Committee went ahead on Tuesday "as planned" and the London organisers of the Games said the violence would not hurt preparations for the Olympics.
The chaos in London, and fears of further disruption, led to the cancellation of an England-Netherlands soccer friendly yesterday and the postponement of three club matches.
While heavy policing in London prevented all but a few incidents in the capital, copycat looting and violence erupted in cities and towns to the north and west.
Mayhem in England
Youths fought running battles with police in English cities and towns overnight but London, where thousands of extra police were deployed, was largely peaceful after three turbulent nights in which youths rampaged in parts of the capital virtually unchecked
Manchester and Liverpool in the northwest and Birmingham in central England suffered the worst of the overnight violence which broke out in north London on Saturday after a protest over a police shooting of a suspect two days earlier.
In Birmingham, police launched a murder inquiry after three Muslim men died after being run over by a car in the mayhem.
A friend of the men told BBC radio they had been part of a group of British Asians protecting their area from looters after attending Ramadan prayers at a mosque.
"The car swerved towards them. It was cold-blooded murder," the friend said.
London itself was largely quiet, with some 16000 police - 10000 more than on Monday - sent onto the streets in a show of force in districts where gangs of hooded youths had looted shops and burned cars and buildings on the previous three nights.
Stephen Kavanagh, deputy assistant commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said officers would be out in force again last night.
"Tonight we are going to plan for the worst again, that is what London deserves," he told BBC radio.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who cut short a family holiday in Italy to deal with the crisis, was due to chair a second meeting of COBRA, the government's crisis committee, and recalled parliament - a rare occurrence - to debate the violence.
The looting showed the world an ugly side of London less than a year before it hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, an event officials hope will serve as a showcase for the city.
A visit by an International Olympic Committee went ahead on Tuesday "as planned" and the London organisers of the Games said the violence would not hurt preparations for the Olympics.
The chaos in London, and fears of further disruption, led to the cancellation of an England-Netherlands soccer friendly yesterday and the postponement of three club matches.
While heavy policing in London prevented all but a few incidents in the capital, copycat looting and violence erupted in cities and towns to the north and west.
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