Last night's riots, looting and arson in Tottenham High Street and in the nearby Tottenham Hale Retail Park sends a dismal message to any potential visitors or investors, who might have been attracted to the area by the London 2012 Olympics - stay well away!
The Olympic Stadium site is only 7 kilometres away, but Tottenham might as well be on the moon, for all the "regeneration" benefit the billions wasted on the Olympics project will have locally.
The local (Labour) politicians and "community leaders" are appealing for calm etc., but they all have an air of failure and despair about them - they know that this riot will make local life even bleaker than it was before.
Why should there be any sympathetic media coverage of these riots whatsoever ?
There are several reports of press photographers and video camera crews being attacked by the gangs of looters:
The BBC reports:
Riots in Tottenham after Mark Duggan shooting protest
A BBC TV news crew and satellite truck also came under attack from youths throwing missiles.
The Mail on Sunday reports:
Meanwhile, two Mail on Sunday photographers were viciously beaten and robbed by masked youths armed with crowbars and other makeshift weapons and reporters on the scene were threatened by looters in balaclavas.
The photographers said there was 'total lawlessness' in the area with the contents of shops strewn across the streets and the police unable to gain access.
One said: 'It is utter carnage out there. We have been beaten up quite badly and had about £8,000 of equipment stolen. We were quite discreet but as soon as we got a camera out we were set on by youths with masks who were armed with crowbars.'
In a separate incident, a Mail on Sunday reporter was chased down a side street and struck on the back of the head with a rock.
The criminals also even attacked (white) left wing , anti-police violence sympathisers, accusing them of being undercover policemen.
PoliceStateUk twitters:
@PoliceStateUK
For a refreshing change of pace, just got beaten up by rioters instead of riot police. Apparently I look like an undercover cop.
@PoliceStateUK
... Mark Kennedy has a lot to answer for :-) Some older onlookers kindly waded in and rescued me from the lads that didn't like me.
Also
@FortisGreen75 Pete Mellows
#Tottenham: Back from the High Road having been attacked for looking like an undercover cop!? Literally owe my life to 3 or 4 guys.
No doubt their will be months of investigations and perhaps an Inquiry, into the original shooting incident and into the police riot response.
- Why was there no initial rapid Police response when the Tottenham Hale retail park stores burglar alarms went off ?
- Was the Metropolitan Police Service really so overstretched, or did they delay their response for political reasons to put pressure on the Government against the cuts in their massive budget ?
- Will political extremists try to exploit this riot for their own evil purposes ?
- How much has the stupid "gangsta" culture contributed to turning previously innocent youths into real criminals during this riot ?
- Will this all happen again next summer, during the Olympics ?
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