Presenter: ‘This is the BBC news at one o’clock … A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of police firearms officer Barry Noble. Officer Noble was stabbed to death last night when he answered the door to his house in Fulham.
‘The twenty-nine-year-old man being questioned has not been named, but it’s believed he lives in the same area of London.
‘Officer Noble shot and killed a woman during an armed raid in Balham six days ago, and it was this incident that sparked the riots. Scotland Yard has insisted that it was an accident but an internal inquiry was launched. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Gary Trimble, condemned the killing during a press conference, which has just ended.’
Commissioner: ‘This was a savage, unwarranted attack on a man who devoted his life to protecting the people of this great city. His wife and children have been left devastated and we will do everything we can to ensure that the person responsible for this heinous crime will not escape justice.’
Presenter: ‘Commissioner Trimble also responded to criticism that the force had been ill-prepared and ill-equipped to respond to the scale of the riots that have rocked the capital over the past week.’
Commissioner: ‘There are indeed lessons to be learned from what is happening. And I’m sure that our politicians now accept that in a city the size of London it is grossly irresponsible to continue cutting back on police numbers and resources. These riots clearly demonstrate that law and order can only be maintained if there is sufficient commitment and investment.’
Presenter: ‘The Commissioner also hit out at social media companies for allowing their platforms to be exploited by those who are trying to marshal support online for the riots.’
Commissioner: ‘There’s mounting evidence that criminal gangs are brazenly encouraging people to descend on specific targets, which include shopping areas. One Twitter post that went viral this morning named a high street and said that it was full of shops waiting to be ransacked. And another Tweet pointed out that the riots offered a fantastic opportunity to those who wanted to make a lot of money just by turning up.’
Presenter: ‘As that press conference was taking place there were fresh outbreaks of violence in town centres across London, including Clapham, Eltham, Brixton, Notting Hill and Vauxhall. More from our reporters …’