The nature of the disturbances has shifted over the past 72 hours. In Tottenham on Saturday, the anger may have spilled over into looting, but there remained a sense of political purpose. The violence had grown from a protest against the police shooting of Mark Duggan, and even those stealing TVs and mobile phones yelled "police are murderers" as they did so. But 24 hours later, when young people took to the streets in boroughs across north London, and, in the south, in Brixton, they seemed intent on property theft rather than confrontations with police...In Pembury Estate last night, the opposite was true. There was no doubting their objective: they wanted to fight police.
...Crowds gathered there from 5pm, after having been moved on from Mare Street and London Fields, where there had been minor looting. All routes into the estate were blocked off with burning debris. A man with a Jamaican flag across his face sprayed in red across the entrance to one tower block: "Fuck Da Police." "Come and get us, man," shouted another, as he hurled a bottle at riot police gathered in the distance. A van was stolen, rammed into a wall and set on fire. A Suzuki motorbike was dragged from a side road, surrounded by boxes and plastic bags, and set on fire. Several other vehicles were set alight. Groups waited nearby, but at sufficient distance to avoid the shrapnel when the petrol tanks inevitably exploded. "We aint going nowhere," a man shouted. "This is our estate." His comments, and those of others, felt like attempted expressions of power, as the crowd tried to assert their independence.
Journalists and bystanders were not welcome. Several were approached with demands to know if they were "Feds". Regardless of the answer, phones were swiped from hands and smashed. At least three reporters were attacked--one photographer was dragged to the ground and beaten by four youths.
...At times, there was hand-to-hand combat between riot officers and young men with makeshift weapons. But generally the crowd aimed for vulnerable targets--solitary police vans, unguarded shops and bus shelters were smashed. On two occasions, when individual officers appeared isolated from their unit, the crowd surged forward with bricks and stones.
. Really makes me proud to be scouse..... not
