A group of rioters loots shops in London. Photo: Hozinja
Businesses around the capital – and now in some other major UK cities – are being forced to close their doors due to riots and looting.
The riots started on Friday (August 5) following a peaceful protest over the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police officers during an arrest attempt. Looting spread around Tottenham High Road before the 1930s art deco Carpetright store was burned to the ground, with the destruction of 26 flats above the store.
Carpetright boss and ex-Tory peer Lord Harris has pledged to help those who lived above the Carpetright store.
The incidents continued over the weekend, with Monday night (August 8) being described by senior London police officials as ‘the worst night of violence in living memory’. Some of those officers had been present at previous riots in the 1980s in Brixton and at Broadwater Farm housing estate, where one police officer was murdered by machete-wielding locals.
Hundreds of shops, including major chain stores, franchises and independent stores, have been looted and in some cases burnt down. In some cases the fires are also affecting people’s homes – mainly those who live in flats above affected shops.
Simon Key, owner of the independent Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, told the Financial Times: “The people who were doing this were mainly going for phone shops, high fashion shops and HMV, looking for stuff that they could sell on. Bookshops weren’t top of the list.”
“I don’t think anyone has ruled out the fact that it might happen again, but next time possibly people will be slightly more prepared,” he added.
Although the same appears to have been the case in several areas, with small business owners in Brixton saying that only larger chain stores had been broken into, owners have been less lucky in other places. An eyewitness this morning reported at least three independent shops to have been looted in Walworth Road, Elephant and Castle.
Croydon, one of the worst-affected areas, has also seen independent stores being burnt down, with some residents in the flats above them having to jump out of windows to escape the burning buildings.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “It is completely unacceptable and the people who have suffered are those who have lost their businesses, shopkeepers who have lost their shops, families who have lost their homes and many people who felt very frightened in their own neighbourhoods.”
The British Retail Consortium warned today (August 9) that many of the stores that have been severely looted, both independent and chain stores, will never reopen their doors due to the losses.
The Association of Convenience Stores reports that so far, 93 independent newsagents and corner shops have been affected, either because they have been looted or because riots are preventing deliveries from reaching them.
A law firm located in the City of London,
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, has advised business owners that they must act quickly in order to recover their losses from the rioting - otherwise they may not be entitled to compensation. Under the Riots (Damages) Act 1886, a claim must be made within 14 days.
The rioters are believed to be using the Blackberry Messenger (BBM) network to organise their activities. BBM is largely used for business purposes but is also popular with teenagers as it is free, instant and confidential. However, the actions have largely been condemned on other social networks, with Twitter users organising riot clean-ups via the @riotcleanup profile.
Over 50 separate incidents of riots and looting have taken place in London alone, with the violence now
spreading further afield.