Riots on the streets of London

The riots that have been taking place in London have been beamed round the world and have been causing much debate on social networks. Let's make one thing clear though from the very outset, the people involved in the torching of buildings, looting, rioting and general social disobedience have nothing to do with the original protest, and are not in themselves aligned to the protest. They have hijacked the protest for their own ends, to mete out as much destruction as possible.

The protest was originally sparked by the police shooting of Mark Duggan. He died of a single gun shot wound to the chest according to a recent inquest. 

"Mark Duggan was killed by armed officers in Ferry Lane in Tottenham, north London, on Thursday after they stopped the minicab he was in to carry out an arrest as part of a pre-planned operation. An inquest, which began on Tuesday morning at North London coroner's court, in High Barnet, heard that the 29-year-old father of four died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead at 6.41pm on Thursday evening." 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/09/london-riots-mark-duggan-inquest

I am sure most of us would sympathise with the death of such a young father. The wave of rioting that has since swept through the capital has all but silenced his death, with media attention now almost entirely focused on the destruction that has been wreaked on our capital since his death. 

While the initial protests were entirely justified, the subsequent rioting we have since witnessed has been completely disproportionate. Setting fire to buildings, looting businesses and causing millions of pounds worth of damage is wholly unacceptable.

Here is a BBC link showing the before and after images of several of the buildings torched by the rioters.

Seeing these images is saddening to say the least. The wanton destruction of so many buildings cannot be justified, and the rioters responsible should face the full force of the law.

We have enough CCTV evidence to convict great numbers of these people, so I wait with baited breath so see what happens next.