Mark Henderson answered
Prime Minister David Cameron made these remarks following the English riots of 2011. The comments suggest that the Prime Minister is blaming the mass rioting and looting on his perceived decline of morality in Britain's society.
The riots were unprecedented in recent times, and started due to the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham by the police on the 7th August 2011.
Duggan was shot while police were attempting to arrest him on suspicion of planning an attack, and it has been stated that Duggan was carrying a handgun.
After Duggan's death, people from Tottenham's black community (Duggan was also black) held a peaceful demonstration against the police, during which the police were alleged to have assaulted a 16 year old girl - which led to the demonstration turning violent. This violence then extended into Hackney, Brixton, Chingford, Peckham, Enfield, Croydon, Ealing and East Ham. Whilst Duggan's shooting may have started the initial riot, several other causes resulted in its spread around London and other major cities in England.
In these comments, David Cameron blames the riots on a lack of morality in society, which he believes needs to be addressed. However, it has since been suggested that a larger array of factors contributed to the riots rather than just a loss of morality.
Issues that were considered to be potential factors in the riots:
The riots were unprecedented in recent times, and started due to the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham by the police on the 7th August 2011.
Duggan was shot while police were attempting to arrest him on suspicion of planning an attack, and it has been stated that Duggan was carrying a handgun.
After Duggan's death, people from Tottenham's black community (Duggan was also black) held a peaceful demonstration against the police, during which the police were alleged to have assaulted a 16 year old girl - which led to the demonstration turning violent. This violence then extended into Hackney, Brixton, Chingford, Peckham, Enfield, Croydon, Ealing and East Ham. Whilst Duggan's shooting may have started the initial riot, several other causes resulted in its spread around London and other major cities in England.
In these comments, David Cameron blames the riots on a lack of morality in society, which he believes needs to be addressed. However, it has since been suggested that a larger array of factors contributed to the riots rather than just a loss of morality.
Issues that were considered to be potential factors in the riots:
- Minority communities' poor relations with the police
- Social exclusion
- Family breakdown
- Austerity measures
- Unemployment
- Gang culture
- Criminal opportunism
- The failure of the penal system.
