Gangs ‘were at the centre’ of violence in London

Prime Minister David Cameron visits the community assistance centre in Tottenham Green Leisure Centre with local MP David Lammy (left) yesterday

Hundreds of London gang members were at the centre of last week’s violence and looting, the Standard revealed yesterday.
One in four suspects arrested is in a gang or “affiliated” to one, according to figures from the Met.
Younger gang members carried TVs and other goods to leaders in cars and there are reports of gangs orchestrating the first riots in Tottenham.
The extent of their involvement comes after David Cameron pledged to “wage war” on gangs.
It came as:
*Theresa May revealed police could get new curfew powers and establish “no-go” areas.
*A 16-year-old boy appeared in court charged with the murder of Richard Bowes who tried to put out a fire in Ealing.
*Two sons of an Evangelist minister were charged with looting.
Police monitoring Twitter and the BlackBerry messaging system last week thwarted planned attacks on the Olympic site, the Westfield shopping centre and Oxford Street.
The Met has arrested a total of 1,685 people for offences linked to the disorder, of whom 985 have been charged.
Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin said an analysis of the backgrounds of suspects detained so far showed that around “20 to 25%” were “gang affiliates”.
Godwin’s figure means that about 420 of those held so far are suspected gang members.
Police figures in 2006 suggested there were 169 street gangs in London but the figure is expected to have grown significantly since then.
Detectives believe that gangs also helped to organise some of the initial rioting in Tottenham and the subsequent disturbances elsewhere in the capital.
The home secretary vowed to support police if they adopted more robust tactics to deal with any future disorder.
May also announced that ministers would consider plans to introduce new curfew powers which would bar whole communities, rather than just individuals, from going out at night.
Curfew powers, which currently only apply to adults, could also be extended to juveniles.
In a further swipe at police leadership, May also said that too many chief constables had been assessed on “whether they ticked boxes” and hit government targets and that she now wanted to see “single-minded crime fighters” running forces instead.
She added that the need to appoint a new Met Commissioner swiftly, with the Olympics looming, meant that there was no time to rewrite the law to allow overseas police chiefs such as Bill Bratton to apply and insisted that she was convinced that a “tough crime fighter” from Britain could be found to lead the Met.
She also disclosed that new guidance on handling riots will be drawn up by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Denis O’Connor, in a bid to ensure that police are able to respond more effectively to any future disorder.