LONDON — Community leaders on Sunday condemned the worst outbreak of violence and looting in London in a quarter-century, but some observers said more such unrest was likely in low-income areas hit hard by a sharp cutback in government services.
A march in the Tottenham area of north London to protest the shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in a police operation to control firearms two days earlier turned violent late Saturday. Buildings were looted and torched, 26 police and three civilians were injured, and 55 arrests were made. Several families were left homeless.
It was regarded as the worst mob violence in London since disturbances in the nearby Broadwater Farm area 25 years ago, in which a police officer was hacked to death.
Duggan’s brother, Shaun Hall, said he understood the anger with unemployment and government cutbacks but called for an end to the violence.
“I know people are frustrated; they’re angry out there at the moment,” Hall said. “But I would say please try and hold it down. Please don’t make this about my brother’s life.”
A leader of the district governing council blamed a small group for the violence, which she said undermined decades of community efforts to rebuild.
“The people of Tottenham deserve far better than the pain and damage inflicted by a minority of mindless troublemakers,” said Claire Kober.
Tottenham’s representative in Parliament, David Lammy of the Labor Party, also condemned the looting.
“The community deserves answers to what happened on Thursday night, but they don’t deserve this,” he said in a telephone interview. “Last night seemed to be an attack on the community — jewelers, hairdressers, the post office, independent shops.”
The businesses lost in the violence belonged to local people, not chains, he said.
Tottenham is home to an ethnically mixed population including Asians and North Africans, as well as people of Middle Eastern and Caribbean backgrounds. Despite improvements since riots in 1985, many feel it has been unfairly hit by cuts to government services.
