Getting to grips with the riots

His eloquence reflected the country’s dismay at the riots, the ruinous turn of events this week, the ineffectual police response at the outset and David Cameron’s 575-word statement that was only noteworthy for its brevity.

By the time that Parliament reconvenes tomorrow so MPs can express their outrage at this week’s savagery, it will be clearer whether the police re-enforcements have proved effective or not.

Yet, frankly, Mr Cameron has created the impression, inadvertently or otherwise, that events are controlling him – a mistake that Tony Blair rarely made at times of national crisis.

For, while his visit to Croydon and a Scotland Yard control room will have provided some comfort, it did not explain why the shooting dead, by police, of suspected gang member Mark Duggan precipitated such anarchy, with officers apparently powerless to stop young thugs looting and torching scores of shops.

This is what the public wanted to hear. They also had a right to know whether the Government’s plan to cut police numbers still stands. And they also would like an explanation about why the Home Office seems so reluctant to seek formal approval to deploy sterner measures – such as water cannon, rubber bullets or soldiers supporting the emergency services.

At the very least, Parliament should ensure tomorrow that the police have the necessary training and resources so they can respond decisively to any future violence.

For Mr Cameron to return from Tuscany and say that these tearaways will face “the full force of the law” simply was not good enough – that should be happening as a matter of course and it will not occur when there are insufficient officers to question those suspects that have been caught.

That is why the likes of Mr Reeves have every right to be angry. And the extraordinarily lucky woman photographed leaping from a burning building in Croydon. And every other victim of these riots.

They want answers – not grandstanding from image-conscious politicians or further timidity from those police chiefs who are tasked with protecting the public at all times.