Presenter: ‘This is the BBC news at eight o’clock … and another person has died as a result of the rioting, bringing the total number to five. Dozens more have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
‘Most of the violence is still taking place in London. In Peckham rioters clashed with a group of soldiers who had been drafted in and there are reports of shots being fired. A petrol bomb was thrown through the window of a car showroom in Greenwich, causing a massive explosion. And a mob of youths has now descended on the Brent Cross Shopping Centre in Hendon where stores are being ransacked and vandalised.
‘The Mayor of London has been speaking to reporters in front of City Hall.’
London Mayor: ‘The level of violence and destruction that’s being inflicted on our city is horrific. The police and other emergency services are coping as best they can and I am hopeful that the situation will soon be brought under control.
‘A great many people are suffering, and so we’re setting up a number of crisis centres to help those people who have lost their homes and businesses. Details will be available shortly.’
Presenter: ‘The mayor went on to say that extra funding is being made available to help kick-start clean-up operations across the capital.
‘Outside London trouble has now spread to other cities …’